Whirlpool Country
by Paradox Jast
Summary: Naruto must first accept what happened in the past before he can move on with his future. Many will come to depend on him. Rated M just in case. Gradual AU with parts of canon added in. NaruSaku
1. Maturity

Greetings, Naruto fans! Whirlpool Country will be an AU story based in the Narutoverse (no crossover) and will pull bits and pieces from canon as things happen. Eventually the story will end up being entirely AU. The beginning of this story takes place shortly after Asuma's death, which is roughly around canon Manga chapter 435. I'm only going to do this once, because this is a fanfiction site, but I do not own Naruto or anything like that. Duh. It belongs to Kishimoto-sensei.

**_Update Mar 23rd 2010:_** I just wanted to welcome all new and potential re-readers. It's been a fun ride so far to where I am now. I've finally finished the edits the first 17 chapters so they are much cleaner than they were previously. As a note, I've gotten several remarks that the story starts out rather slow, and even I agree (I was a new writer for the most part when I started this 2 years ago) but it picks up quickly around Chapter 4 to Chapter 8... it varies for different readers. But typically by Chapter 8, everyone has been completely hooked. With that in mind, even if you were planning on passing this one up, hopefully you'll give it a chance and read at least that far.

Enjoy Whirlpool Country!

* * *

Chapter 1

Uzumaki Naruto hated being bored. Unfortunately, he was extremely bored right now. His traveling companion wasn't helping the situation either.

"Hey, Ero-sennin."

The older man did not respond. This didn't surprise the blond haired boy traveling with him. Ever since they left the last village they spent the night at, their way back to Konoha had so far confirmed that Jiraiya pretty much forgot Naruto even existed. This came as no surprise, however, since the man was out most of the night, having claimed he was falling behind on his 'research'. The perverted hermit was currently scribbling away in his notebook, his pen moving so fast that it was nothing more than a blur.

Naruto rolled his eyes. Normally he'd use his patented Oiroke technique to get Jiraiya's attention rather quickly, but the question he wanted to ask wasn't important enough to warrant using it. On top of that, he didn't feel like dealing with the whining that came after he dropped the transformation. That man was totally, completely, and utterly a pervert in every sense of the word.

Thinking back, Naruto mused that this entire two week sojourn around the Fire Country was rather boring. His sensei claimed that he wanted to begin getting the boy acquainted with his spy network - just in case. While that was fine and dandy, most spies are notorious for not really talking. Introductions went fine, there were grunts of greetings and acknowledgments, then quiet conversation between his sensei and the spy. Naruto was forgotten after every single introduction. When he inquired as to how he was supposed to contact these people in the future, should he need information, the reply did nothing but serve to agitate him further. "They are spies. You don't contact them; they contact you when they have something worthwhile to report. I'll give you the emergency contact message another time."

So all in all, him going on this trip was pointless. He was getting introduced to people that he may never meet again.

The past weeks were spent visiting the seediest bars and inns around, most of which had plenty of opportunity for Jiraiya to do research, while Naruto drummed his fingers on the tabletops and wished he was elsewhere. He couldn't even create a few Kage Bunshin clones to go train somewhere... they had to remain totally inconspicuous the entire time. Any hint of a rising chakra level and their entire mission was a bust.

Supposedly.

Naruto moved his hands behind his head and let out a sigh. Looking up, he glanced at the few clouds in the sky, and noticed the position of the sun. It was up high in the sky, so it was probably now early afternoon. They had been traveling since the sun was just barely beginning to light up the horizon and had only stopped once, briefly, near a stream to get some water. Naruto wanted to run so they could get back faster, but Jiraiya had firmly stated they would be walking so that they could enjoy these final moments of this minor 'vacation'.

Only problem being - vacations are supposed to be fun. This mission was anything but. He couldn't wait to get back into Konoha and start training again, chow down on some Ichiraku ramen, and hang out with...

"Gaki."

Suddenly interrupted from his thoughts, Naruto stumbled slightly, not expecting to be called. After gaining his balance he looked to his left, to see a smirking Jiraiya. The man leered at Naruto, the perverted grin growing with every syllable that left his mouth.

"You were thinking about your little sweetheart back home again, weren't you?"

Had it been anyone else on the planet asking that question, Naruto might have blushed, and even stuttered a bit when answering. But knowing his sensei... both of his senseis, actually... he knew better than to give the man even the slightest bit of ammunition. So he scoffed and shrugged his shoulders in an exaggerated rolling motion instead.

"I don't have a sweetheart. I'm just waiting for this boring mission to end, and wondering how long it will be until we are back inside Konoha."

Jiraiya looked around for a moment, then pulled out his map. He nodded a few times, and made a few grunting noises - as if confirming something to himself. Quickly folding the map back up, he returned it to his pack, and rubbed his hands together.

"According to my calculations, we are an hour or two away from Konoha."

Naruto couldn't help but let out a mighty sigh.

"You can't read a map any better than I can, so I don't know why you bother to pretend. Plus, if we're as far away as you say, why can I see the gates now?"

Jiraiya's head snapped forward, and his eyes widened. He let out a little chuckle, shook his head, and looked at Naruto with what seemed to be concern in his eyes.

"What happened to you, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya out of the corner of his eye, without turning his head. "Huh?"

"You seem a lot more... well... pessimistic than I'm used to seeing you. You seemed normal when we left on this mission."

Silence reigned for a moment while Naruto decided how best to answer. He looked down at his feet as he moved forward step by step, running through various words and phrases in his head, deciding how best to answer.

If it was at all possible, Naruto's silence made Jiraiya even more concerned.

"Naruto?"

The young jinchuuriki lifted his head and looked back up into the sky once again. "Have you ever felt that... I don't know... you've had to grow up more in a few weeks than you ever had to in years prior?"

Jiraiya kept looking at Naruto, but didn't answer right away. He knew what the boy was talking about. "Is this about Asuma?"

"That, and more."

"Oh?" Jiraiya was genuinely curious. The serious Naruto was something he was seeing more of recently, and he definitely interested to see how this Naruto reacted to various situations.

"Yeah, these two weeks were so boring that I was thinking about all kinds of different things. Asuma talking to me about my wind affinity. Kakashi-sensei telling me that he believes I'm the only one who can surpass the Fourth. Sasuke telling me not to come looking for him anymore because he's not coming back at all, and why he's so stubborn. Plus a bunch of other random things here and there that aren't really worth mentioning right now."

The Toad Sannin brought his hand up and scratched his chin while listening to Naruto. "How far did Asuma get with your wind training anyway?"

Naruto visibly slumped. "Not very far. He gave me some basic pointers. Mostly on how to feel and mold it. That helped me experiment a little faster with the exercises Kakashi-sensei had set up for me. There were more questions I had, but I figured they could wait until I had a little more practice under my belt."

A sigh. "If I only knew."

Jiraiya nodded his head in solemn acknowledgment. The loss of Asuma hit Konoha hard. He was the last of the shinobi from the Sarutobi clan that was still active as at least Chuunin or higher rank. They had three genin members, Konohamaru included, but the loss of Asuma left some mighty big shoes to fill. It also didn't help that Asuma was the only easily accessible shinobi that was experienced enough to teach someone else who had a wind affinity. Wind users were rare, and those who had mastered control of their element were even more rare.

Looking forward once again, Jiraiya noted that they were probably within ten minutes of reaching the Konoha gates. Trees were starting to thin out around them, and a few small shacks were now visible interspersed through the foliage.

"Well, Naruto, I happen to know someone who knows a bit about having a wind affinity... probably not as well as Asuma, but something is better than nothing."

Naruto's head snapped to the side to look at his sensei. "Really? Who? When can I meet them? I have tons of questions!"

Jiraiya couldn't help but bark out a small laugh. "Easy, gaki. I haven't seen them in years, so it will probably take a while before I can establish contact, and then even longer until I can convince them to help you out. But I think I can manage."

Naruto seemed to deflate again, but the slump in his shoulders wasn't as bad as before. "Well... okay. You're right, something is better than nothing."

They walked in silence for another couple minutes, Konoha's gates approaching ever closer, before Naruto spoke up once again.

"What about in Suna? We're allies... do you think Gaara would know anyone I could talk to? I know Temari uses wind, but I've never really seen her do much other than wave that big fan around and blow things away with it."

Jiraiya pondered for a second before he answered. "It is possible... I'll look into that too. Still, don't get your hopes set too high. Those with an affinity for wind are very rare."

"Why?"

Jiraiya blinked, and glanced at Naruto. "Why what?"

"Why is the wind affinity so rare?"

"Well, probably because while it is rather strong, its uses and applications are... how to put this... limited?"

Jiraiya started digging around in his pack for their papers, while Naruto looked at him with a blank stare. "I didn't think people got to choose what their affinity was."

"They don't." Jiraiya chuckled as he found what he was looking for, and swung his pack back over his shoulder. "You didn't pay attention to history in class, did you?"

"Not really."

"I didn't think so," Jiraiya sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Well to sum it up as best I can, when the shinobi nations were first formed, there was quite a lot of selective breeding. Chakra had just been discovered, and of course it was tested for the abilities it could give in combat. Therefore, experiments were running rampant to find which affinity was best. Wind was decided to be the strongest, however its applications were limited, not to mention it was extremely hard to control. Earth was the weakest overall, however it was the easiest to control, therefore it had the most applications as well."

They finally reached the gates of Konoha, and headed over towards the check-in booth. There were two Chuunin there, as usual, however Naruto didn't recognize either of them.

"The shinobi gradually migrated throughout the land to places where their affinities could be best applied. Hence, the five main shinobi nations were born."

Naruto nodded, more to himself than to Jiraiya. They were heading away from the booth, down the main road through the middle of Konoha, towards the administration building.

"So wind is only rare because it's hard to control?"

"Exactly. Most shinobi don't like to get up close and personal with their opponent. They want to finish fights quickly, and that means being able to attack from a distance. Earth is one of the easiest, because its always beneath you, and therefore is always available. Other than wind, fire was the next hardest, because the fire has to come from within you. You have to _will_ the fire to exist."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at that. "So that's where all those 'Will of Fire' speeches came from. I thought they were more original than that."

Jiraiya chuckled as well. "I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyway, most felt that wind affinity was rather useless, because beyond a few feet from your body, you can't control wind unless you have massive amounts of chakra. You can start a tornado with the wind, but once it gets a certain distance away, you'll lose control of it. So most felt it was best left as an extension or enhancement of chakra-tuned weapons. Over time, wind users have dwindled, while the other elements have expanded considerably. While rare, though... I doubt anyone without unique talents can beat someone who has mastered their wind affinity. Wind is simply the strongest element in close combat, no exceptions."

"I understand," Naruto sighed yet again, and scratched the back of his head. "I'll have to experiment I guess. Seems thats all I can do until someone is willing to give me more pointers."

"I'm sure my contact will help you, once I explain the situation."

The duo stopped in front of the entrance to the administration building, and they both looked up.

"Should we go in the normal way, or the shinobi way?"

Naruto grinned for the first time in a long time. "The shinobi way, of course."

They both laughed, and leaped up towards the Hokage's office.

* * *

Tsunade was sitting in her chair, trying desperately not to reach into her desk drawer and grab her bottle of emergency sake. The paperwork was never ending, and Shizune had just dropped off another stack of requisition forms for supplies a moment ago. She was sorely tempted to just quickly glance over each sheet and immediately stamp it, regardless of the consequences.

Muttering under her breath about the paperwork, she grabbed her glass of water and started to drink from it while glancing at one of the forms in her hand.

"BAA-CHAN!"

Caught totally unawares, Tsunade nearly choked and ended up spraying water all over, ruining the form in her hand, as well as many of the papers scattered across her desk.

"Oops."

Tsunade slowly turned in her chair to face the intruder... no... both intruders. Naruto was almost cowering, almost appearing as if he was trying to merge with the wall behind him, while Jiraiya was doing his best not to crack a smile... or break down laughing. The killer intent she was putting off was enough to nearly bring Naruto to his knees. If she was bothering to listen, she would have heard him whimper that he didn't mean to startle her.

"You both had best have a very good reason for entering my office through the window, instead of through the door like all my other _respectful_ shinobi."

Naruto stopped cowering, took a step forward, and very steadily crossed his arms over his chest. The fear was gone from his face, and he was now staring at her with the utmost seriousness. "Because you're _my_ baa-chan, _I'm_ special, and I bought you a _present_," he stated, adding emphasis in all the right places.

Tsunade visibly relaxed, and even smiled. "Oh, well in that case, welcome back."

At this, Jiraiya finally broke down, laughing.

Tsunade's eyebrow visibly twitched. "Whats so funny, pervert?"

Jiraiya's laughing died down, and he wiped a small tear from his eye. "Oh Tsunade... I find it amazing how this gaki can please you so fast." He slapped Naruto on the back. "You need to use some of that charm on girls your own age! You should try it on that Sak-"

Before he could finish, Jiraiya was sent flying out the window by a fist planted firmly in his gut. He was propelled backward with such force it made Naruto wince.

Tsunade stood looking out the window with her hands planted firmly on her hips. She muttered something under her breath that Naruto couldn't quite catch, then turned to face him. "I'm used to him being a pervert, but when he tries to turn others into perverts as well..." Drifting off while shaking her fist in the air, she turned and headed back towards her desk, beckoning for Naruto to take a seat.

As he was getting comfortable in the seat, Tsunade reached into one of the drawers of her desk and pulled out a small scroll. Glancing at the seal briefly, she nodded, then set it on her desk. She gestured at Naruto, "Report."

Naruto shrugged. "Not much to report, really. We visited each of the designated locations on the list Ero-sennin had, met all his contacts, introduced me to them, and then came back. The rest of the time I was bored out of my mind because I couldn't train, and I'm sure you don't need me to elaborate on what you-know-who was doing."

Tsunade put her head in her hands and sighed. Rubbing her eyes, she leaned back in her chair and tossed Naruto the scroll, which he deftly caught with one hand.

"Whats this?"

"Permission to release funds to you as payment for the mission. It was considered C rank."

Naruto looked confused for a moment. "Ero-sennin said it was a vacation."

Tsunade just snorted. "Then consider it payment for dealing with Jiraiya for two weeks."

Not wanting to argue about being given money, Naruto neatly pocketed the scroll into his jacket. "Sounds good to me. Need anything else while I'm here?"

The corner of the Hokage's lip quirked up. "Didn't you tell me you bought me a present? Or did you want to go flying out the window too for being a liar?"

Naruto visibly gulped, and waved his hands in front of himself quickly. "No no no! I really did buy a present! But I had to mail it to you because I didn't want to carry around a glass bottle in my pack in case I got into a fight!"

An eyebrow lifted. "Sake?"

Naruto leaned back in his chair and looked off to the side. "It's a present, I can't tell."

Tsunade just chuckled. "Silly baka. I'm sure I'll like whatever it is. Anyway..." She grabbed some papers from her desk and started fanning a few, trying to dry them from the water that was misted over them earlier. "I have one small assignment for you before you do anything else. I need you to find my apprentice and tell her to come see me. We have to talk about an upcoming assignment."

Naruto nodded and stood up from his chair, heading for the door.

"Naruto, you have the next couple days off, but I need to see you here again tomorrow for a mission I have specifically for you. I'll brief you then."

He waved over his shoulder as he opened the door to leave. "Sure thing, baa-chan. See you."

The whistling noise of the desk clock flying through the air was the only warning he had before it smashed against the back of his head.

"...that'll teach you to call me baa-chan."

* * *

Ichiraku Teuchi saw the mop of spiky blond hair approaching his stand, and knew what he had to be ready for.

Before said blond could even squeak out a single word, he had a large miso ramen set down in front of him. The poor boy had to blink a few times and rub his eyes, stare at the ramen, then open and close his mouth like a fish a few times before he managed to speak.

"Thanks, ojiisan!"

Teuchi smiled at his favorite customer. "Welcome back, Naruto. Business is never quite the same without you around."

Naruto tried to smile, but the mouthful of ramen kept him from doing that. So he settled for nodding vigorously. He was about to shovel more into his mouth, but stopped and looked around for a few seconds. "Where's Ayame-neechan?"

Teuchi had already turned around and was washing some bowls. He spoke to Naruto over his shoulder. "I asked her to go do some shopping for some spices for me. She should be back soon, if you want to hang around and say hi."

Naruto yelped a quick 'ok', then started gobbling down his ramen once more. Once again, Teuchi was quick on the draw and had a second bowl set down in front of the boy just before he finished his first. Naruto displayed one of his rare dazzling smiles, and quickly dug into the second bowl.

"Oh, well look who it is. Hello there, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto turned to look who was talking to him, and remembered not to smile too widely with a mouth full of food when he saw Ayame. He settled for a small wave and nod instead.

Ayame giggled. "My, he finally learned some manners after all this time. Good job Naruto-kun!" She playfully rubbed her hand on his head, messing up his hair even further, then walked around to the back with her bag of groceries.

Naruto was on his fourth bowl after another couple minutes, and was slowing down.

"Ready for a fifth Naruto?"

Surprisingly, Naruto shook his head. "Not today, ojiisan. I think my stomach shrank these past two weeks, I didn't get to eat ramen once." He fake sniffled, then chuckled. "Thanks anyway though. I might be back for dinner!"

Teuchi smiled and nodded, then waved Naruto off and went to check on some of his other customers. Before he moved away from his stool, Ayame walked out from the back with her apron on. She saw Naruto getting up to leave, and visibly pouted.

"Aww, leaving so soon?"

Naruto slowly sat back down and placed both hands behind his head, chuckling lightly and smiling at the girl. "Gomen, Ayame-neechan, but baa-chan asked me to run an errand for her and she might get mad if I take too long."

Ayame nodded, "I understand. Come back for dinner and I'll make your favorite!" She smiled and winked at him.

"I'll definitely be back then, believe it!" Nothing in this world could make him miss Ayame's pork ramen. Well, almost nothing.

Naruto hopped off his stool after paying for his meal, then took off down the street at a steady pace. He was going over in his mind what he wanted to do, and then remembered Tsunade's request for him to find Sakura.

His mind flashed briefly back to the comments that Jiraiya made earlier in the day, but quickly frowned and shook his head to clear it. As much as he liked Sakura in the past, he had been doing his best to squelch those feelings before they got out of control and he ended up annoying her again. She was his best friend, and he didn't want to lose her friendship because he was nagging her about dates and things like that. Granted, she hadn't turned him down or beat him up the past two times he had asked, but he didn't know how long his luck would last. With a sigh, he took off for the hospital. She should still be working... if not, it shouldn't be too hard to track her down.

* * *

Haruno Sakura was tired. She had been going nonstop since dawn, one patient after another. For some reason today was incredibly busy, but she couldn't place her finger on exactly why. Only two or three of her patients had been trained shinobi. Most of the people she had helped today were standard artisans of one craft or another, who had some mishap with an instrument they were working with.

Moving around behind the nurses station, she stifled a yawn with her free hand as she replaced her now empty clipboard on the rack. Looking to the side, she noted the time, silently rejoicing that she only had a half an hour left before she was able to go home for the day. Having taken care of all her daily assignments, she decided to settle back in the chair behind her and stay around the desk for the remainder of her shift in case another patient walked in.

"Hey Sakura-chan!"

"ACK!" Sakura nearly fell out of her chair. Blinking her eyes a few times, she rubbed them once, glanced up to see a very sheepish-looking Naruto, then twisted her head to the side to at the clock again. It had already been almost 20 minutes!

"Gomen, Sakura-chan, I didn't know you were... um... sleeping. I couldn't see your face, I thought you were reading."

Sakura waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "It's fine, I'm actually glad you woke me up. If my boss saw me dozing off, she'd be furious." She moved her hand up to stifle another yawn. "So when did you get back?"

Naruto scratched the top of his head as he talked. "Just about an hour ago. Reported in, got food, and then I was asked to hunt you down to deliver a message from baa-chan."

That got Sakura's attention. "Tsunade-sensei? What's up?"

"I don't know," Naruto shrugged. "She just asked that I tell you to stop by and talk to her sometime today."

"Alright, thanks for relaying the message. I'll go see her. After that... I think I'm gonna have to take a nap. Today has been incredibly busy for some reason."

Naruto rubbed his chin. "They were setting up for some sort of festival on the east side of Konoha. They had signs up announcing it near the entrance, and stuck to the check-in booth. So there might have been people here who were working on that. I think the latest class of genin are graduating."

"I'll have to stop by and see if I recognize any names on the graduation list." Sakura's eyes widened a bit as she considered the rest of what Naruto said. "Wow, those people setting up the festival are incredibly clumsy then. I had to heal some of the stupidest injuries. How do you hit your own leg with a mallet? Some of those people would probably make you look like a genius." She couldn't conceal the small smile that appeared as Naruto's face started to scrunch up into his customary pout.

"Sakura-chaaaaan, that was mean." He crossed his arms over his chest and turned around.

"Oh whatever. I was just kidding. Stop acting like a big baby."

"Hrmph."

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'll get you some ramen for dinner tomorrow... my treat?"

Naruto's demeanor did a total one-eighty. He spun back around, eyes bright and wide with a dreamy look, and a huge grin plastered on his face. Sakura couldn't help but grin once again as she saw the look on his face.

"Really?"

"Really."

Naruto stood there for a moment, then let out a loud 'whoop' - loud enough to get a few of the other nurses, patients, and doctors to turn and stare.

"Its a date, Sakura-chan!" Naruto nearly shouted, then quickly spun on his heel and ran out the front doors of the hospital, leaving a gaping Sakura sitting at the desk. One of her fellow nurses who was nearby walked over to Sakura, giggling all the while.

"Nice catch, Sakura-san." She winked and continued to giggle.

Sakura spluttered for a moment, and managed to stammer, "Its... its not like that, Yuna-san!"

Her coworker merely smirked and started walking off. "Well thats a shame, he's a bit of a looker. If you're not interested, maybe you can introduce us sometime?"

Resisting the urge to hit the desk repeatedly with her head, Sakura got up and decided it would probably be best if she went to visit the Hokage now, before anyone else decided to comment on her blond friend's outburst. She had no plans on entering the matchmaking business either.

* * *

Approaching the door to the Hokage's office, she nodded to the Chuunin stationed near the door, from whom she received a nod in response. Taking that as the customary cue to proceed, she knocked twice on the door and waited.

"Enter."

Opening the door, Sakura walked into her sensei's office. "You wanted to see me, shishou?"

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork, nodded to Sakura and smiled briefly. "I'll only need a second of your time."

Sakura moved swiftly to stand in front of the Hokage's desk. If there was one thing she learned during the time of her apprenticeship, it was that Tsunade always appreciated people being punctual and respectful. Probably came from dealing with the likes of Kakashi-sensei, she mused.

"Sakura, I need your honest and blunt opinion. If you were to rate your own skills as a medic-nin, what rating would you give yourself? This doesn't mean I will classify you as such, I'm just curious."

Sakura blinked a few times, but managed to keep her face schooled into a neutral expression - or so she hoped. She was totally unprepared for a question like this.

"Well, I'm a lot more confident in my abilities these days. You've greatly helped me in strengthening my body and refine my skills. Since his return, Naruto has helped strengthen my mind, reinforcing my confidence in myself. I firmly believe that I could be rated as a B-rank nin, and perhaps bordering on A-rank by the end of the year. Assuming I keep the training schedule I have now, that is."

Tsunade remained quiet for several moments after Sakura finished, and continued staring at the top of her desk. After about a minute of no reply, Sakura started sweating, wondering if perhaps she said something wrong. As Sakura was getting ready to speak up and ask if something was wrong, Tsunade cleared her throat, startling Sakura. However, she quickly regained her wits and stood at attention, awaiting the verdict.

"I must say, I'm impressed with your assessment of your skills. You've definitely changed from when I first took you as my apprentice." Tsunade gave her a genuine smile, and Sakura visibly relaxed. "I asked you that, because I wanted to be absolutely sure of your confidence in yourself. I have a mission planned, and I'm probably going to need your help."

Sakura nodded, waiting for Tsunade to continue.

"I can't give you too many details now, because the planning is still underway. I will say that the majority of this mission revolves around our favorite knucklehead."

"Naruto?"

Tsunade nodded. "The one and only. This mission will be huge for him, and eventually Konoha, and Fire Country as a whole. On top of that, I don't know how to rank it, or if it even needs to be ranked, considering it may last for years."

Sakura paled slightly. "Years?" She had many questions already, but knew better than to blurt them out when Tsunade was giving one of her 'mission speeches'. So she figured one simple word would suffice for now.

"Yes, years. You will be integral to this mission as well. You've known Naruto longer than most other shinobi here, and are close to him because of your status as friend and teammate. I would send Kakashi, but Naruto has been known to clash - sometimes violently - with authority, and Kakashi isn't exactly the sentimental type."

Tsunade sighed and leaned back in her chair. "On this mission, Naruto will end up discovering things that could either make him happy beyond his wildest dreams, or shatter him completely. I certainly hope its the former, but with how things have been looking recently, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter." She leaned forward and looked Sakura directly in the eyes. "I need you there to hold his hand, no matter the outcome. To pick up his pieces and put him back together, should it come to that. Naruto can take a lot of punishment, but in the end, he is still human."

The look she gave, as well as the tone in which she spoke shook Sakura to her very core. Even more questions lit up in her mind, and she was nearly about to burst with her desire to ask them. As she was about to open her mouth and ask one, Tsunade held up a hand to forestall any comments or questions.

"I know you most likely have questions. Knowing you, I'd bet on it, and probably actually win for once." Tsunade grinned and chuckled lightly at her own joke - even Sakura managed to display a small grin. "I can't answer any right now, for various reasons. I will be giving you and Naruto separate briefings, and I'll try to explain as much as I can at that time. Keep in mind, however, that Naruto will be much more in the dark than you. There are some things he will need to discover on his own."

Tsunade leaned back again. "Now... I'm giving you the next two days off to rest and prepare. I'll send a note to the hospital that I'm pulling you for mission duty, and that you'll be unavailable for an extended period of time. I'll see you back here in two days, and hopefully be able to explain everything then."

Grabbing her stamp and a form that apparently needed approval for something or another, she got back to work. "You're dismissed, Sakura. Two days."

Without a word, Sakura nodded slowly, then turned and walked toward the door. Stepping outside and closing the door behind her, she felt two emotions, both of which she expected. The first was happiness, knowing that what was coming might actually make Naruto happy as well. The other was complete dread, knowing that there was also a chance it could shatter the boy's very soul. She didn't let that thought get her down, though. Clenching her fists tightly, she promised to herself that no matter what, she would not lose her last teammate... and her best friend.

With a deep breath, Sakura took off towards home, to get a much deserved nap.

* * *

**Edited:** April 1st, 2009

Up Next: Believe It


	2. Believe It

Chapter 2

The rain was doing nothing to help Naruto's mood. Even though it was only a slow drizzle, it seemed like it was sapping his energy.

He was already in somewhat of a foul mood since he couldn't train yesterday either. Apparently the maintenance crews had decided to make yesterday the one day of the week where they went through and fixed up all the damage in the various training areas. His favorite place to practice, training ground fourteen, was off limits the entire evening - as were the other two training grounds nearby. As a result, his inability to train because of circumstances beyond his control was extended by yet another day.

Walking along one of the streets that dead-ended at the administration building, he looked up to the sky and felt the light patter of rain on his face. He quickly ran a hand through his hair and felt that it was quite damp, and beginning to lie flat against his head. Picking up the pace a little, Naruto figured he should get to the administration building before he was totally drenched. His feet were freezing, he had stepped in more than one puddle by accident already.

Even though it was late morning, many shops were still closed along the path. Apparently many owners figured that with the rain, there was no real point in opening if they weren't going to have any customers. Besides that, they rarely had any rain shower, or even storm that lasted for more than an hour or two.

Approaching the entrance to the administration building, Naruto nodded quickly to the Chuunin guard who was standing outside. The guard gave him a small wave before he entered the building. Walking towards the back of the entrance hall, he started climbing the stairs to get to the Hokage's office, while repeatedly rubbing his hand back and forth over his head to get some of the extra water out of his hair.

Upon reaching the top floor, Naruto spied Shizune hunched over her desk, reading some paperwork.

"Hey, Shizune-neechan!"

Shizune looked up from the paper she was reading and gave Naruto a big smile.

"Hi there, Naruto-kun. Tsunade-sama told me you got back yesterday. What's up?"

Naruto stopped rubbing his hair - which looked like a mess now - and moved his hand to its signature position behind his head as he smiled back.

"Baa-chan asked me to come back today so she could brief me on a mission that was specifically for me. She wouldn't tell me anything other than that though, so hopefully its a well-paying one! I never noticed how expensive ramen could be before."

"Yes, it can." Shizune giggled lightly, then gestured behind her to the door. "You can go on in, Tsunade-sama just got back from lunch, so she should still be free."

"Thanks oneechan!" Naruto walked up to the door and knocked twice, then waited for an answer.

Hearing nothing, he knocked again. Still no word.

"She's not saying anything."

Shizune looked up from her papers again, and looked at Naruto. "I saw her no more than five minutes ago. Just go on in."

Naruto nodded, opened the door, and stepped inside.

Tsunade's head was on her desk, and she was snoring lightly.

Naruto chuckled to himself. Perfect timing for a prank. He slowly closed the door behind him, and tiptoed up to the desk. Glancing over the contents, he spied a black marker. Grinning evilly, he grabbed it, pulled off the top, and started to tiptoe around the side of the desk.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, gaki."

Naruto nearly jumped out of his sandals. Quickly turning around, he spied Jiraiya standing next to the window, with water still dripping off his clothes. Apparently it started raining harder outside.

"Ero-sennin! It's going to be really funny!"

"What's going to be really funny?" Naruto quickly spun around again, hiding the marker behind him as he heard the sleepy voice of his intended prank target speak up behind him.

"Ohhh... um, nothing!"

Jiraiya spoke up from behind him. "Naruto was just going to play a prank. You know, his usual."

Naruto tried to glare at Jiraiya over his shoulder, until Tsunade spoke up again.

"Well, so long as it doesn't involve me, I don't care." Apparently the Hokage still hadn't totally woken up yet, ordinarily she would have started going on a rampage. Her eyes were still glazed over, until they settled on Naruto. "Oh... Naruto, you're here. Good, that means I can give you your assignment."

Naruto nodded and sat down quickly, while stuffing the marker up the sleeve of his jacket. Meanwhile, Tsunade started rifling through some of the paperwork on her desk, while Jiraiya remained standing next to the open window, arms crossed over his chest and a small smile on his face.

Tsunade apparently found what she was looking for, because she grabbed a sheet of paper and started skimming over the contents. She turned her head to the side to look at the man standing by the window.

"Before I get started, Jiraiya, is there anything pressing that I need to hear from you before I start on Naruto's assignment?"

Jiraiya lifted one of his hands, and waved it back and forth. "No, nothing urgent."

Tsunade nodded to him, then turned her attention back to Naruto.

"Alright, Naruto. The mission I have for you is going to happen in two parts. The first part that I'm giving you now will be a reconnaissance mission. I need you to head northeast of here, near the borders of Fire and Marsh Countries. A few things have been brought to my attention, so I'm sending you to scout out the area."

Tsunade started moving things around on her desk. "What happened to that marker... I need to make some notes on this..." Suddenly, she stopped moving things around, and looked up at Naruto with narrowed eyes.

"Where is it?"

Naruto squirmed in his seat, while Jiraiya laughed from his spot by the window. Leaning forward, Naruto quickly deposited the marker on Tsunade's desk, then leaned as far back in his chair as he could, trying without much success to look innocent. Tsunade just glared at him for a little bit longer, grabbed the marker, then started marking up her papers.

"Well, I was going to make this mission a B rank and send you on your own, but since it seems you are still lacking maturity, I will assign you two teammates and downgrade its ranking to C."

Naruto looked like he was about to cry. "But... but... Tsunade-dono..." He added a few sniffles for emphasis.

For a moment, Tsunade's face displayed a range of emotions, before finally settling on a look of mild amusement mixed with chagrin. "Very cute, but it's not working this time buster."

Jiraiya was over in his own world, desperately trying to stifle his laughter so that Tsunade could actually finish briefing Naruto.

"You... and now your team... will go and scout out a designated area. I will have a map of the area that I need scouted waiting for you at the checking booth by the main gate upon your departure. You still have tomorrow off, but I expect you to get an early start the day after. The assigned mission time is one week... though it shouldn't take more than a couple days, I think."

Naruto nodded slowly, but didn't speak up.

"Upon your return, you'll have a few things to do before you head back out again on the second part of the mission." Tsunade took a deep breath, preparing herself for a potential outburst of noise after she uttered the next sentence. "One of the things that will be happening is your consideration for promotion."

She was expecting him to jump up and cheer, which is why she braced herself for a lot of noise. To her surprise, Naruto just sat there and stared, unmoving. He wasn't even really looking at her, it was more along the lines of looking through her. His gaze was unfocused, and it was making Tsunade uneasy. Even the perverted hermit by the window was looking at him with concern.

"Uhm... Naruto? Did you hear me?"

Naruto's eyes appeared to finally to focus on her face, as if he was coming back to reality. But instead of a look of excitement, which she was still expecting, his face scrunched up into one of confusion instead.

"I thought the promotion to Chuunin involved participation in a written exam, field test, and tournament?"

Tsunade nodded, once again surprised, this time at Naruto's insight, though secretly pleased.

"Traditionally, yes. But there are certain situations that may be present where promotions are able to be granted due to unique circumstances."

Now Naruto's face took on the look of excitement that Tsunade was expecting before. "Alright! I'll do my best baa-chan! Dattebayo!"

Tsunade's shoulders slumped in defeat while Jiraiya started cackling again. So much for the maturity.

"Anyway... that's all for now. When you get back, I'll explain more about what you'll need to do, plus the details of your next mission."

"Right!" Naruto hopped up from his chair and bolted for the door. He left, closing the door behind him with a loud bang, making a few of the pictures on the wall nearby shake slightly. He could be heard outside, his muffled voice talking animatedly to Shizune. Talking about his potential promotion, most likely.

Tsunade sighed heavily, leaned back, and slouched in her chair. She turned her head slightly to look at the Toad Sannin. "Well, at least my eardrums are still intact. Can't say the same for poor Shizune, though."

Jiraiya barked out a laugh, then raised an eyebrow at Tsunade.

"You were going to send him with teammates anyway, weren't you."

Tsunade just nodded, without saying anything.

"So you just told him that it was B rank before to get back at him for the attempted prank?"

Another nod.

"I wonder what side of the family he got his desire for pranks from."

Tsunade turned to look completely at Jiraiya, a small frown on her face and sadness in her eyes.

Jiraiya shrugged and started talking to himself, more than Tsunade. "Maybe I can take him to the hot springs later, as encouragement for his mission and tests when he gets back. It used to do wonders for his father..."

The howls of pain could be heard for miles around Konoha.

* * *

Naruto started trekking back down the street, deftly sidestepping the multitude of puddles that littered the street. The rain had finally stopped and the clouds were starting to break up, letting the sun poke through occasionally. Naruto could barely contain his excitement since baa-chan told him that he might get a promotion. He was bummed when he first came back and learned that all his old friends from his graduating class were now at least Chuunin, and Shikamaru was even a Jounin! While he was definitely happy for all of them, the thought that he was left behind - if unintentional - ate him up inside.

While a promotion wasn't all that spectacular, he mused, it at least boosted him on the path to getting a little more recognition. His dream was still to become Hokage, but unless people became more aware of him, he might never get that chance. He had to admit though, the random looks of acceptance and appreciation were starting to become more common ever since the incident with Gaara and the Sound invasion all those years ago. He wasn't ignored as much as he used to be, and the looks of disgust, revulsion, and pity had almost disappeared. Most of the time he got treated just like any other normal shinobi, which was absolutely fine with him.

Naruto stopped as he realized that he vaguely remembered this bit of the street he was looking at. Looking up and around at his surroundings, he realized he had stopped in front of his favorite place in Konoha - Ichiraku Ramen.

Thinking he should eat as much ramen as possible before he had to leave on his next mission, he hopped over one more rather large puddle and plopped down on a stool at the counter.

"Miso ramen please!"

Ayame came out from the back and smiled at him. "Ah, I thought that voice sounded familiar. Welcome back, Naruto-kun."

Naruto gave Ayame one of his biggest smiles. "Aha... thanks Ayame-neechan! What can I say, your ramen keeps me coming back for more!"

Ayame visibly blushed and giggled. "Well, I'll just have to make an extra large helping for my favorite customer then. Wait a minute, I'll be back with your ramen."

Naruto let out a loud cheer as Ayame headed for the back, still blushing with a smile on her face. Naruto started idly scratching at an invisible spot on the back of his hand while waiting for his meal. Not long after Ayame disappeared into the back, Teuchi came out and stood in front of Naruto.

"Yo, ojiisan!"

Teuchi leaned forward a little, placing both hands on the counter, and looked at Naruto very carefully.

Naruto was beginning to feel slightly unnerved. "Uhm, ojiisan?"

A small grin started working its way up the side of Teuchi's face. "Sorry Naruto, but its hard to keep a straight face around you. Can I ask you a question?"

Naruto looked relieved, then started smiling again. "Sure, anything ojiisan!"

Teuchi nodded, then leaned forward closer to Naruto's face, and squinted at him.

"Were you flirting with my daughter?"

Naruto blinked a few times, then his face turned beet red and he started stuttering. "W-w-what?! I... um... well... uh she is kinda cute... but... I... like her ramen a lot... but..."

Teuchi just broke out in laughter, then placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and gently squeezed it. "Whoa whoa... calm down there kiddo. I heard everything. I just couldn't help myself when I saw her walk into the back room and her face was bright red with a huge smile."

Naruto placed his hand behind his head and scratched it, lightly chuckling with a small smile. He was clearly embarrassed.

Teuchi winked at him. "Besides, I know you have your eyes set on a certain kunoichi with pink hair."

Clearly, the poor boy was rendered speechless as he sat there staring wide eyed, his mouth opening and closing but no words coming out.

"It's not too hard to see kiddo." Teuchi made a V shape with his fingers to Naruto, then turned and headed for the back again. "I'm sure you'll do fine. Keep up the good work, Naruto."

Naruto just continued to sit there, his face still red, thinking about what Teuchi had said.

Ayame returned, with a large pot of miso ramen shortly thereafter. She grabbed a large bowl, filled it, and gave it to Naruto.

Naruto slowly grabbed his chopsticks and stared at the steaming bowl of ramen in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he decided that he should talk to Ayame before he started eating the food she made for him.

"Ah... listen, Ayame-neechan..."

"Shhh."

Naruto looked up sharply, to see a grinning Ayame. She was holding a finger over her lips in a shushing gesture. Moving her finger down, she smiled and giggled at Naruto.

"It's alright Naruto-kun, I already know. Father just wanted to have a little fun with you, thats all. I was just really happy because I don't get many compliments."

Naruto looked shocked. "But... you make the best ramen I've ever had!"

Ayame blushed again. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Naruto-kun. But your the only one who says it like that. I really appreciate it."

Deciding to leave the conversation at that, Naruto nodded, gave Ayame the biggest smile he could, and pretty much shouted, "Itadakimasu!"

Ayame gave Naruto a thumbs-up, then returned to the back room. He started going to town on his ramen, it was delicious, as usual. When he became Hokage, he was definitely going to talk to them about opening up an entire ramen restaurant! Naruto was so consumed by his thoughts that he didn't notice when someone sat down a couple stools down from him until he heard a female voice ask for a small bowl of miso ramen.

Turning his head slightly, his eyes met a pair of very light brown ones. The girl sitting nearby was fairly attractive, and had dark brown hair that was weaved into a complex braid that came down to her waist. Seeing him looking in her direction, she offered a smile and a little wave.

"You must be... Naruto-san, right?"

Naruto's eyes opened wide, then he remembered the ramen he hadn't quite finished swallowing yet. Turning quickly, he tried to swallow what was in his mouth, but only partially succeeded. After coughing for a full minute, and the girl looking at him with a rather worried expression, he managed to bring a small smile to his face.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm Naruto." He coughed a couple more times, then pounded his chest a few times. "Sorry about that. I guess thats what happens when you try to inhale noodles instead of eat them."

The girl smiled and giggled at him. Teuchi came out from the back after that, refilled Naruto's bowl, and filled up a small bowl for the other girl as well. She bowed her head over it as Teuchi returned to the back.

Naruto turned back to his food and heard a quiet "Itadakimasu" from the girl. He started eating his ramen again, more slowly than before, just in case she decided to talk to him again.

"So, you're Sakura-san's teammate, right?"

Naruto looked at her again, eyebrows raised. "You know Sakura-chan?"

The girl nodded. "We were both in the same initiation class at the hospital... meaning we both started there the same month. So we end up doing a lot of the same shifts, at least when she's not away on missions. Oh, I'm Saito Yuna, by the way."

Naruto smiled at her. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

She just giggled in response. "I know. In fact, I know quite a lot about you."

Naruto scratched the top of his head and felt his cheeks heat up, he knew that comment made him blush a little, but he wasn't sure why. "I didn't know I was popular."

Yuna gasped a little, then waved her hand back and forth. "Oh no! I didn't mean it like that! Sakura-san talks about you a lot, thats all!"

That made Naruto's heart skip a beat. Sakura talked about him? "She does?"

Yuna nodded. "It's funny, the other day when you walked into the hospital and I saw you for the first time, I joked with her that she should set us up on a date if you were single. She got all flustered and upset. It was funny to watch. I didn't know you were the Naruto she always talks about."

Naruto felt like his heart was about to burst from his chest. "Did... did she say anything?"

Yuna shook her head. "No, earlier this morning she didn't want to talk about it when I apologized..."

"Yuna-san!"

Both patrons of the ramen stand turned to look as a pink haired kunoichi approached them.

"Yuna-san! There you are!" She was breathing heavily, as if she had been running. Almost as an afterthought, she tossed in a 'Hey Naruto.' "I've been looking all over for you. I thought you wanted to go shopping before most of the shopkeepers took lunch?"

Yuna stared at Sakura for a second before looking puzzled. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon."

Yuna looked shocked. "Wow, time flies. I'm sorry Sakura-san. I was walking over to where we were supposed to meet, but I saw the ramen stand and realized I was a bit hungry, then I saw Naruto-san was here... I guess I lost track of time."

Sakura just rolled her eyes and grumbled, then moved forward and sat down on the stool between Yuna and Naruto, and barked out a quick 'Miso ramen please!'.

Ayame came out from the back, filled up a bowl and proceeded to place it in front of Sakura. She looked at Naruto with a twinkle in her eye. "My my, it looks like my Naruto-kun decided to bring all his girlfriends to the ramen stand today!"

Before he could say anything, Yuna spoke up, "Yep, he sure did. Couldn't stop talking about how good this place was!"

Naruto blanched, and then he heard something - or rather someone growling next to him. Turning slowly, he noticed Sakura giving him a very evil glare.

"Naruto you hentai! What kind of perverted things have you been doing?!"

Naruto pulled out his gama-chan, deposited money on the counter, and took off down the street faster than Kakashi could recite the first sentence of Icha Icha Tactics.

Yuna pouted. "Aww, Sakura-san... it was fun to tease him, just like you said it was. Why did you scare him away?"

Sakura snorted in a very unladylike manner, then grabbed her chopsticks. "I have to keep him in line somehow, otherwise he'll end up just like both of his sensei. Perverted to the core."

Ayame leaned on the counter near Sakura, placed her chin in the palm of her hand and smiled at the pinkette. "Or are you just being protective of him, Sakura-chan?"

She turned to face Ayame, a distinctive red hue starting to form on her cheeks. Ayame had a predatory grin on her face that left Sakura feeling rather unsettled. Yuna leaned forward slightly, definitely interested in where this conversation was heading.

"Not really. Sometimes I feel bad, because he grew up an orphan and had no one to take care of him. I feel like a mother, more than anything else."

Ayame just grinned. "If you say so." She got up and started heading for the back. Before she went behind the curtain, she looked over her shoulder and spoke up again. "Don't worry about paying either, it looks like Naruto decided to cover both of your meals as well."

Ayame disappeared into the back, and Yuna let out a dreamy sigh.

"Wow. He's good looking, funny, and paid for my lunch too. Sakura-san, can you please get me a date with him?"

Sakura didn't look away from her ramen, but managed to ground out a barely audible, "I'll think about it."

Yuna cheered and happily went back to her ramen, while Sakura sat there wondering why her appetite suddenly disappeared.

* * *

Two days later, Naruto was standing just inside the main gate of Konoha. He had picked up the map Tsunade said she would leave for him by the entrance, and he was trying to figure out exactly where he needed to get to. He was definitely getting frustrated, and was about to tear the map into shreds. Not being able to train at all because of soggy training fields yesterday nearly drove him crazy. Having to dodge Sakura and her halfhearted attempts to get him set up with Yuna didn't make his day much better.

"Hey boss."

Naruto looked up from the map, to see Konohamaru approach him and wave.

"Ah Konohamaru. Are you one of my teammates for this mission?"

Konohamaru nodded. "Hokage-sama said I needed to get out from Konoha for a little while and get some air. She says I've been too depressed and its showing in my mission performance. Plus I'm getting tired of villagers looking at me with pity all the time."

Naruto frowned and nodded. He was going to offer his condolences once again, but Konohamaru didn't seem very receptive to pity of any form at the moment.

"Uhm, Konohamaru, do you know how to interpret this map?"

Konohamaru's face blanked. "Baka, you know I can't read a map any better than you can."

Naruto sighed. "Man, this is so troublesome."

"You bet it is."

Naruto and Konohamaru both looked off to the side, where a ninja with a Jounin vest and a very distinctive pineapple haircut was approaching them.

"Shikamaru! What are you doing here?"

Shikamaru shrugged, and looked at Naruto with his typical bored expression. "Hokage-sama didn't say much other than, 'Go to the gate, meet your team, and make sure those bakas don't get hurt,' so here I am."

Naruto just stared dumbfounded, while Konohamaru started muttering about how he was tired of being looked down on. After a minute or so of listening to his ramblings, Naruto finally spoke up. "So why is a Jounin going on a C rank mission?"

Shikamaru looked up to the sky before speaking. "Well, there was something else Hokage-sama mentioned about 'not being able to read a map' and 'not knowing a thing about patience if it was tangible and hit him in the face', so I guess that has something to do with it. So I'm here to lead your reconnaissance mission to victory."

Naruto felt crushed, that had definitely wounded his pride. He was sure that his face showed it. So instead of saying anything else, he closed up the map and held it out for Shikamaru to grab.

Raising an eyebrow, Shikamaru grabbed the map, but didn't stop looking at Naruto. "Whats up with you? Normally you'd go on some rant about wanting to be the Hokage and proving you can lead teams on missions."

Naruto just shrugged. "Whatever."

"Now I know something is wrong."

"Yeah bro, that is definitely not like you."

Naruto brought his hands up and rubbed his temples, then brushed both hands back through his hair, and ended with linking his fingers behind his neck.

"Sorry guys. Since about three weeks ago, starting with my last mission, things haven't been going so great. I haven't been able to train at all since then, and I think it's making me irritated." He neglected to mention anything about Sakura and Yuna and how that entire situation was annoying him, but figured the other two didn't need to know about that.

Konohamaru looked appeased by that explanation, but he wasn't sure if Shikamaru bought in entirely. He was getting a look from the genius that read 'I guess that will settle for now'.

Shikamaru glanced at the map, then closed it and clapped his hands together. "Alright, lets make sure we have everything before we head out."

Naruto swung his pack off his back, went down on one knee, and started rifling through it. Konohamaru did the same.

"Naruto!"

"Hai!"

"Canteen?" "Check." "Kunai?" "Check." "Tent?" "Check." "Compass, even though you don't know how to use it?" "...check." "Goodbye hug and kiss for Sakura?" "...teme."

Shikamaru just grinned while Naruto was glaring daggers. "Was just making sure you were paying attention. You pass. Konohamaru!"

They went through the same checklist while Naruto was sitting there wondering why everyone thought him and Sakura were so close, when he felt they were as far apart as friends could possibly be while still being friends. It was partly his fault for them being in that situation, he didn't want anything to come between her and Sasuke. Naruto had caught her looking at him a few times when she thought he didn't know, however, and some of the looks he got made him wonder...

"Naruto!"

Naruto snapped back into focus with that rather loud shout. "Ouch, my ears."

"Sorry, but I had to do that. You were in a daze and not responding to anything. Tch, must you always be so troublesome?"

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be Uzumaki Naruto."

A loud sigh. "True. Alright, lets get out of here. The sooner we get back and get paid, the sooner I can get back to staring at the clouds and wasting my life away."

"What does Temari think of that?"

Shikamaru pointed his finger at Naruto, who had a wide grin. "Don't even... well... whatever, I guess I deserved that one."

Konohamaru was looking between the other two, having absolutely no idea what was going on. "Can we go now?"

Shikamaru nodded, and they took off.

* * *

Tsunade had finally finished the last stack of papers and was leaning back in her chair for a much deserved nap, when there was a quick two knocks at her door. Slowly managing to pull herself out of the daze she was in, she cleared her throat and spoke towards the door.

"As long as your name is not Shizune, enter."

The door opened slowly and Sakura walked in, a small stack of papers in her hand.

"It's me shishou, reporting as you ordered two days ago."

Tsunade nodded, then narrowed her eyes as Sakura placed the stack on her desk before sitting down.

She nodded towards the stack. "Sakura, whats this?"

Sakura looked hesitant, but replied. "I met Shizune as I was walking up the steps, she asked if I could drop these off in your office since I was heading this way anyway. They are Second Division requisition forms."

Tsunade wanted to bang her head against her desk, but since she had company at the moment, she would save that for later.

"Very well. I guess I should get started on that briefing I told you about."

Sakura nodded, but did not say another word. This caused Tsunade to smile. She had taught her apprentice well. Much better than that pervert did with his student. She fished around in her desk for a few notes and documents. Finally managing to get them all, she stacked them neatly in a small pile and handed them to Sakura.

The young woman accepted the papers with raised eyebrows, which eventually transformed into confusion as she looked through the pages.

"Shishou..."

"Yes Sakura?"

"Why are you giving me this? Requisitions for supplies... files on some of our shinobi, including mine... various plans... contacts... what is all this for?"

Tsunade smiled. "Read the sheet on top."

Sakura flipped back up to the top of the stack, her eyes moved back and forth as she read the paper. They widened in a few places, but they were the widest at the end. "The council actually approved of this?"

The Hokage nodded. "I had to make a few concessions, which weren't that big of a deal, but I still had to argue them to make them seem that way. Besides what you have in your hands, there is another set just like that will be in someone else's hands next week."

Sakura was flabbergasted. "You mean there's going to be TWO?!"

Tsunade nodded. "Indeed. But where you are going will be larger, and will probably become its own beast, depending on the circumstances."

Sakura had plenty of things she was totally confused about, and had no idea where to start. Tsunade must have noticed her confusion, because she chuckled a bit and spoke up. "I can tell you are confused Sakura, and you have every right to be. I just dropped a pretty big bombshell on you, at least where Konoha is concerned, not to mention Fire Country, and most likely a few other countries as well. On top of that, I bet you're mostly curious how all this involves Naruto, as I told you two days ago."

The girl just winced, but didn't say anything. That particular boy was a rather touchy subject lately, mostly due to one of her overzealous coworkers at the hospital. As sharp as ever, Tsunade noticed the hesitation.

"Whats wrong with Naruto now, Sakura?"

"Um, nothing Tsunade-sama. Just something relatively minor you reminded me of that I have to deal with on my own time. Nothing that will impact this mission at least. I can see though, why you said it may take years."

Tsunade noticed that Sakura didn't call her 'shishou', which meant the girl was distracted or upset with something - possibly both - and she tried to change the subject towards the end. She decided to let it drop for the moment, considering everything else she had just dropped on her apprentice.

"I also thought you might like to know, that the rest of the so called 'Konoha Nine', as well as Maito Gai's team, will be a part of this mission as well in some capacity."

Sakura smiled, at least she'd still get to gossip with Ino and train some with Tenten.

"I'm going to need those back, I still need one more signature, but I know I'll get it since he's the one who gave me this idea in the first place."

The young kunoichi nodded and handed the papers back to Tsunade, who proceeded to replace them back where she pulled them from. Part of Sakura wondered who the last signature could possibly be, but she had so many other questions, she really didn't care at this point. She knew that she'd be going with Naruto, and the rest of her graduating class in some capacity... and that she'd have to find a way to break the news to Yuna somehow. For some reason, that thought almost brought a smile to her face. Almost.

"Shishou... how much of this does Naruto know. Or rather, what is he allowed to know?"

"He can know everything that I've told you. In fact, I'll be giving him this same briefing when he gets back, though I won't have him deal with a lot of the paperwork since he probably wont understand it anyway." Sakura snickered a bit at that, and Tsunade couldn't help but grin. "As for what I was referring to when I spoke to you the other day, he may have a lot of questions when he comes back from his mission. The location that I had him scouting is of large impact for both him, Konoha, and Fire Country as a whole. More will become clear with time, just keep in mind that the only people who know what was once at the area Naruto is scouting are the Sannin, the Daimyo of Fire Country, and perhaps a few Jounin that were there at the time."

"From the way you say that, I'm assuming it was something very bad."

At that comment, Tsunade appeared broken, which scared Sakura to no end. "It was tragic, Sakura. Very tragic. Perhaps even more so than the Kyuubi disaster. Unfortunately, one has already affected your teammate, and this other event will too."

That alone made Sakura gasp, and cover her mouth with one of her hands.

"But, I'm hoping when he knows the entire situation - and I mean everything that happened - that he will be able to come to terms with it. Maybe even find peace. If he can't, I think you're the only one in any position to help him."

Sakura nodded slowly, beginning to feel a weight that seemed to be placing itself comfortably on her shoulders. "Naruto is strong. I'm sure he can handle it."

Tsunade turned in her chair and looked out the window, over Konoha. If only the villagers knew what Naruto's full, true story was... they might have been more benevolent with him in the past. But the past was the past... it just meant they'd appreciate him more in the future. She started talking again, to her student, without turning away from the window.

"Go ahead and get prepared for this mission. Talk to who you need to and grab any supplies you think you're going to need, both for yourself and Naruto. Others that are going with you will be notified within the week. Naruto won't have any time to get prepared, as he'll be heading back out with you shortly after he returns here."

"Hai, shishou." Sakura got up and headed for the door. She stepped out, and when Tsunade heard the knob click into place, she looked to the back corner of the room.

"You can come out now. Both of you."

Kakashi appeared from the darkened corner, book in hand. Jiraiya slipped in through the open window, and proceeded to sit on the sill, arms crossed with a frown on his face.

Tsunade looked at Kakashi and frowned as well. "Hatake, put that book away before I shove it down your throat."

Kakashi quickly closed the book and put it back in the pouch on his hip. "Gomen nasai, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage shook her head and sighed. "I'm sure from the comments earlier, both of you understand whats going on, and what will most likely happen."

Jiraiya spoke up first. "How do you think Naruto's going to handle it when he finally discovers everything?"

Tsunade placed her elbows on her desk, then rested her head in her hands, then closed her eyes. "If all goes according to plan, I can see him being stunned and hurt, maybe even hysterical for a day. I believe Sakura can keep him grounded, though. I'm actually a bit worried about you, Jiraiya. What's he going to do when he finds out you're his godfather?"

Jiraiya didn't say anything for a moment. "I'm not sure. Knowing the gaki, he'll just laugh it off. If I'm unlucky, he'll beat my face in for not telling him sooner. If I'm REALLY unlucky, your apprentice will join him. But unless I tell him, I don't see any way for him to figure out."

Tsunade didn't say anything, but opened her eyes and looked at Kakashi. "What are your thoughts, Kakashi?"

The silver haired Jounin merely scratched his head and chuckled. "Ah, honestly, I have no idea why you wanted me to see the briefing. I doubt the council approved of you sending any Jounin on this mission, if it is what I think it is."

"It probably is what you think it is. You are also correct that the council will not allow any Jounin to go. Thats why I'm moving you back to ANBU, effective immediately."

Kakashi stood up so fast he knocked over the chair he was sitting in. "What?! I left ANBU because I got tired of dealing with Danzou and his cronies that he insisted on sending with us on every mission to make sure we did it right. I do missions better when I don't have someone breathing down my neck!"

Suddenly, he seemed to become aware of where he was and who he was talking to, because he visibly deflated and absentmindedly scratched the back of his neck.

"Err... gomen nasai, Hokage-sama. But I respectfully request that you reconsider." He reached down to fix his chair, then sat back down.

"I understand. Request denied."

Kakashi appeared to deflate even further, slouching down in his chair.

"You might feel a little better if you listened to my reasons before anymore outbursts."

Kakashi meekly nodded, but kept his slouching posture.

"First, Danzou and ROOT has nothing to do with this operation. I adamantly refused it. Of course he wasn't happy, but honestly I think the council is getting tired of his inane demands as well. The only reason he still has any power is because of his past position, but I think that power is waning with his age."

About this time Kakashi started looking up, appearing more interested after that first bit of good news. Before she could speak again, Jiraiya cut in.

"What did Hyuuga say about all this?"

Tsunade shook her head at Jiraiya, and frowned. "Nothing. He agreed with every point I put on the floor, and didn't have any complaints. Even Inuzuka, usually the most agreeable of them all, didn't like the fact that I was sending these people out there with a Genin in charge. While her objection was in my favor, she still objected to something. Hiashi didn't say a word the entire time."

"Curious." Jiraiya motioned for Tsunade to continue her conversation from earlier with the copy-nin.

"There will be two ANBU teams. I have pulled Shiranui Genma back into ANBU as well, and in addition I have moved Uzuki Yuugao from her current team onto yours. So most of your old team will be back together. My condolences on not being able to do anything about the fourth."

Kakashi nodded. "I'm sure Hayate would have liked to have the team together again for old times sake, but I still appreciate the thought. Do Genma and Yuugao already know?"

"They knew two days ago. Handled it much better than you did too."

"Ah, well, Danzou and I really didn't get along. As in, at all."

Tsunade smiled. "Genma said as much. Said you referred to him as 'a rash that just couldn't be itched', or something along those lines."

Kakashi grinned behind his mask. "Close enough, though my language was probably much more colorful."

Jiraiya chuckled, while Tsunade leaned back in her chair and looked at the paperwork on her desk impassively. "Your team will rotate with another team every three months. This is done so that no one gets too comfortable, as ANBU you need to be on your guard, and there won't be any specified patrol routes or people to follow like here in Konoha. Even the best agents get complacent and lose their edge because of inactivity."

Tsunade grabbed a scroll from the same drawer she pulled the papers she showed to Sakura earlier. Glancing at the seal to make sure it was the correct one, she tossed it to Kakashi, who palmed it cleanly. "Thats the official documentation for your transfer to ANBU. I suggest you do like I told Sakura as well. Get ready to go within a week."

Kakashi nodded, and was about to get up to leave, but hesitated. "Hokage-sama..."

"Yes?"

"May I ask who is on the other team, in case of an emergency and I need to contact someone?"

Tsunade nodded, and sorted through a few papers in the same drawer before pulling one out.

"Tenzou will be leading the second squad. As for the other two members, they are new to ANBU, so I doubt you know them. Lets see... Horri Chojiro and Masuko Ritsu."

"Why are there two green ANBU going on a mission like this?"

"I had no choice." Tsunade looked at Kakashi with a sullen expression. "I'm sure you can guess who demanded that I not send all the experienced ANBU outside the village."

Kakashi rolled his visible eye, while Jiraiya snorted. "That old coot really is an idiot, isn't he."

Kakashi and Tsunade both laughed at that, though it was short lived.

After standing up, the Jounin-turned-ANBU stretched briefly, then waved goodbye to the Hokage and the Toad Sannin. "Well, I better get going then. I'm going to see if I can find Yamato and get him to introduce me to these other ANBU."

"Good idea." Tsunade turned and faced Jiraiya once the door closed behind Kakashi. "Well, what do you think?"

"About what? The mission, the people going on it, or how Naruto is going to handle it all?"

Tsunade shrugged, and turned to look out the window. "A little of everything, I guess."

Jiraiya sighed, and turned to look outside as well. "You've placed quite a lot on Naruto's shoulders, and he's still totally oblivious. The Legendary Sucker is placing one large bet on a boy who is, according to most of the people on Konoha, a curse and a stain on this village's honor."

Tsunade snorted. "Fools. If they only knew. Which I'm sure they will, shortly after Naruto finds out. I'm going to be laughing my ass off watching as the villagers and members of the council beg him for forgiveness for how they treated him."

She sighed, and they sat in silence for a minute before she spoke up again, and when she did, Jiraiya barely heard it.

"I did put a lot on his shoulders, didn't I?"

"You did. But that boy is going to be the Rokudaime Hokage one day; he can handle it."

Tsunade smiled. "You're right. What am I worried about, he will be Hokage one day."

She leaned forward, looking over the village she was the highest authority, and chosen protector of.

"Just like his father."

Konoha's Godaime Hokage chuckled lightly to herself, and whispered the most appropriate phrase that came to mind, "Believe it..."

* * *

**Edited:** April 1st, 2009

Up Next: Patrol


	3. Patrol

Chapter 3

The light breeze played with Naruto's hair, making it sway back and forth slightly. The three scouts had set up camp not too long ago, and Naruto was currently the lookout. Squatting on the branch with one of his hands pressed against the trunk of the tree for support and balance, Naruto thought back to his days of survival and scouting lessons. It was one of the few occasions that he actually paid attention in the academy, because they actually focused on doing something with chakra instead of merely talking about it.

Directing the flow of chakra in his body, he focused enough to increase it's presence in his eyes, ears, and nose. It was one of the hardest things he had ever learned to do at an early age, but it was worth it when it came to scouting and survival. Gradually, the three of his affected senses sharpened drastically, allowing him to see further, hear many more sounds, and categorize many new smells. He slowly moved his body around in a circle, surveying his surroundings. To the south, where they had come from, the trees were more dense, the tops glowing a vibrant green in the evening sun. From the west, he saw much of the same, though the land started to rise and the terrain became uneven with hills, and large mountains rising up quite far beyond that. They were so far away that even his enhanced eyesight could barely see them.

Off to the north, the trees were much more sparse, and pine was an increasingly common sight. The temperature probably varied a bit more in that direction. Lastly, to the east, Naruto saw the trees end, and not much further beyond that, he saw the dark blue of a vast sea. While he couldn't smell any saltwater with his enhanced olfactory senses, there was an extremely faint crashing of waves upon the shore that could barely be picked up among the backdrop of other forest noises.

Noticing that his nose was starting to burn and his eyes were also beginning to water, Naruto reduced the increased chakra flow. The burning and watering of his nose and eyes subsided, but there was a distinct ringing in his ears that he'd have to tolerate for a while longer. It annoyed him that none of his other classmates in school ever had problems like that, and as far as he knew those who had graduated to become shinobi still didn't. One thing he did notice, and even his old Academy sensei Iruka did, was that his senses became much, much sharper than anyone else's. At the time, Iruka had only seemed mildly surprised so Naruto had shrugged it off as just being unique. Eventually, however, he came to realize that it was most likely a side effect of his current... resident, and the unique nature of his chakra.

As a result his senses were enhanced even beyond what they should have been, but the human body can only tolerate such extremes for so long. So unless he continually trained himself with those methods, his body would never adjust. He didn't use the techniques that often though, so he figured it wasn't really worth it. He was more of a fighter than a scout anyway.

"What's taking you so long?"

Naruto glanced down. By the tone of his voice, he could tell Shikamaru was getting impatient.

"I just finished. Here I come."

He hopped onto a branch that was a bit below him, on the tree next to his. Jumping off that, he fell downward. Stretching his arms out from his body, his hands grabbed onto another branch that was in front of him, stopping his descent temporarily and using the momentum of his fall to swing him forward. After releasing the branch, he rolled his body up into a ball, spinning once in the air, then landed on his feet in a crouch.

Konohamaru snorted as Naruto landed.

"Pfft. Such a showoff, boss."

Naruto flashed him a big smile. "You're just jealous."

"I could do that if I felt like it."

"Really? You'll have to show me sometime, then. I wanna see your technique."

Konohamaru shrank back, averting his eyes and suddenly seemed to be very interested in his feet. "Yeah, well... maybe if I'm feeling nice, I'll show you."

Naruto just laughed, and tousled the younger Genin's hair as he walked past, causing the the boy to grumble. Naruto headed towards Shikamaru, who was currently sitting on a nearby log and tracing his finger along the map Tsunade had given them for the mission.

"Tch, why can't missions with you ever be simple."

Naruto sat down on the log next to Shikamaru, and frowned. "What's wrong now?"

Shikamaru sighed loudly, and started pointing out spots on the map. "I know you're not going to remember any of this, but... Konoha is right here."

Naruto nodded. Shikamaru took this as a good sign, and pressed onwards. Moving his finger a little to the south and east, he tapped the map again. "Right here, is the capital city of Fire Country." Moving his finger again, this time dragging it quite a distance north and east, he let it rest near the coastline. "We're right about here, close to the border of Swamp Country."

Naruto turned from the map, and stared at the ground for a few seconds before he spoke up. "I don't think I've ever been to Swamp Country."

Shikamaru merely shrugged. "Neither have I. According to the notes from Hokage-sama, there isn't much of note there. Along the eastern side of the country, from where we are approaching, there is plenty of arable land, and there are scattered small farmsteads and villages. There are no clans or ninja forces of note, and the country's capital along the northern coast isn't more than a few merchant shops, homes, and a harbor. It's pretty much just a trade port. The western part of the country is nearly all swampland. One village of note... it's on the only land route through that portion of the country, and thats it."

Staring at the map, Naruto followed Shikamaru's finger as he traced the various locations on it. When he was done, Naruto just looked at him quizzically. "Where are we supposed to scout?"

Shikamaru grunted and pointed to where they were currently located, and then made a small circle which encompassed the nearby coast to the east as well.

"I think I've traveled around near here with Ero-sennin before. He likes the remote areas of Fire Country. When I was surveying the area a moment ago, it looked like a lot of the trees to the east were really spaced out, so I'm guessing there's a lot of empty area where we're scouting?"

Shikamaru just nodded, and it looked like it took him considerable effort just to do that.

"What's so hard about this? We get to scout out an easy part of the country. We don't even have to head into Swamp Country.."

"Because it makes no sense!"

Naruto was so startled by Shikamaru's rather loud outburst, he nearly fell off the log. Even Konohamaru rushed over, obviously intrigued. It took a lot to get Shikamaru worked up over something. After readjusting himself on the log, he composed himself and turned to Shikamaru with a look of confusion etched on his face.

"Care to explain?"

Shikamaru folded up the map, then rubbed his forehead with his free hand and sighed. "Though it will be troublesome, I'll start from the beginning. You said it yourself, there isn't much to the east of here but empty land, correct?"

Naruto just nodded, still confused as to where this could possibly go. Konohamaru, apparently bored and not interested in a detailed analysis, decided to wander off again.

"We're still going to be in Fire Country, right?"

Naruto nodded again. "Yes..."

"So we're scouting along a border to a country that has no major villages or population, no ninja forces, while in a part of our own country that has nothing of note, other than containing quite a lot of empty, unused land."

Naruto blinked a few times while staring at Shikamaru. "Maybe baa-chan just wanted to make sure the border was safe?"

Shikamaru shook his head at Naruto, and looked up at the clouds in the sky. Daylight was fading fast. "You said when we started out that she was planning on sending you out yourself before you got caught in a prank, correct?"

"Yeah... so?" Naruto grumbled at the memory.

"Why would she send you out on your own, on a scouting mission to a place that a patrol could easily take a look at on their route? Include the fact that Akatsuki is still after you... and it makes no sense at all."

Naruto's eyes widened at the mention of Akatsuki. He had totally forgotten about them. Things were starting to fall into place, and he could see where Shikamaru was coming from.

"You're right... when you say all that and add it up, it definitely doesn't make any sense as to why we would need to scout this area."

"Yeah, well... it's getting late, so we should probably get some sleep and worry about it tomorrow when we actually arrive and start checking the surroundings more carefully. You mind taking first watch?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't care. I'm not really tired right now anyway, and my ears are still buzzing a bit from enhancing my hearing earlier."

Shikamaru got up from the log and stretched, then nodded at Naruto. "Alright, get me up in five hours, I'll take the second watch."

"Alright."

Walking back to the center of the camp, Naruto watched Shikamaru as he spoke a few words to Konohamaru, then crawled into one of the tents. Konohamaru got up shortly after that, tossed a small salute to Naruto, and crawled into the other tent.

Naruto sighed, then stood up. He couldn't get Shikamaru's words out of his head, and couldn't help but wonder if there was something important out here that baa-chan wanted him to see. She was willing to send him out here on his own, wasn't she?

With a stretch, Naruto surveyed his surroundings for a good vantage point. Spotting a rather sturdy looking branch, he hopped up, then settled down onto the branch. Leaning back against the trunk of the tree, he let his head fall back so he could stare at the stars.

Something was definitely up.

* * *

Sakura tied off the end of the trash bag she was holding, then set it down and looked around the room. It wasn't totally spotless, but this wasn't her room so it didn't have to be perfect unless the occupant wanted it to be.

Knowing Naruto, it never would be perfect. At least what she imagined perfect to be.

With a small sigh, Sakura got up and made one last pass of Naruto's small apartment, making sure that she didn't miss anything obvious. Not seeing anything, she grabbed the trash bag and deposited it outside, then returned to Naruto's bedroom and started sealing a large selection of his clothing into a packing scroll. While she rarely ever saw him in much other than the orange and black pants and jacket he always wore these days, she was amazed to see that he actually had a rather decent selection of clothing. Sakura tried to make a conscious effort to avoid packing as many pairs of his orange and black stuff as possible.

Tossing the scroll into the small backpack she was wearing, she took one last look around his room before she left. Long ago, he had told both her and Sasuke that he didn't bother locking his door because he had nothing work stealing. After cleaning up his place, she noticed how much truth there was to that statement. The boy had absolutely nothing and she didn't know how he could live like that. It seemed that all he owned when she entered his place was an inch of dust on everything and some spoiled food.

Leaving Naruto's apartment and closing the door behind her, she started heading for the hospital. There were a few loose ends that had to be tied up before she felt comfortable leaving. One such loose end was one she did not look forward to at all.

Yuna.

While they were friends and coworkers, Yuna was a civilian, so she didn't think they could ever be as close as her and Ino, or even Tenten. While she had known Yuna for several years, one thing that she knew about the girl was that she went through a lot of 'boyfriends'. To her knowledge, she didn't think any of them were shinobi, so it didn't bother her that much. But as soon as she said she wanted to date Naruto... that struck a chord. She didn't know if it was her motherly tendencies toward him, or something else entirely, but she didn't think that Yuna and Naruto getting together would be a very good idea.

So she had sought Naruto out a couple mornings ago, and asked him about the possibility of dating Yuna. While at first he had a small smile and was blushing - much to her chagrin - it eventually became a grimace. He had told her that he would have to decline, as he had a mission that he had to prepare for the next day. Sakura really didn't want to press him on the matter, because deep down she really didn't want him dating Yuna. However, she had to at least ask one more time to assuage any guilt. Naruto didn't take well to her asking again, however, since he shot her a hurt look and promptly fled. Any attempt she made at finding him for the rest of the day failed. He didn't even sleep at home that night... if he even slept at all.

Because of that, she ended up feeling guilty anyway. She might disappoint one of her friends, but in the process she had really upset her best friend. While she didn't know why he would get so upset over her asking a simple question, reality dawned on her later that night as she mulled over things from the past, and a dead weight soon settled in her stomach. She made a promise with herself to apologize the next time she saw him... and would just have to tell Yuna that he was off limits. Plain and simple.

She entered the hospital and walked up to the front desk. Luckily for her, the person she needed to speak to had desk duty that afternoon, and it didn't look too busy so far.

"Yuna-san?"

Yuna looked up from the papers she was sorting at the desk and gave Sakura a big smile.

"Sakura-san! What's up, I haven't seen you these past couple days. Hokage-sama put in a request for leave for you."

Sakura nodded, but had a hard time looking Yuna in the face. "Uh, listen, Yuna-san. I'll explain about the leave that's coming up, but I want to talk to you about Naruto first."

Yuna perked up for a moment, then immediately frowned. "He said no, didn't he."

"Well, you see, he has a... wait, what?"

The nurse was still frowning, but repeated her earlier statement. "I said, he told you no, didn't he?"

Sakura just stood there and stared at Yuna for a moment before she replied.

"How did you know?"

"I was talking to a few other coworkers on break yesterday. Apparently ninja and civilian relationships don't work out that well." Yuna placed her elbow on the desk in front of her, then rested her chin on the palm of her hand and sighed. "Still, from what you say about him all the time, he sounds like the perfect boyfriend material if you can tolerate the occasional pervertedness. Which makes me wonder... why aren't you dating him, Sakura-san?"

The other girl just stood there, her eyes opening even wider in shock. Why wasn't she dating Naruto? She liked him, that much was obvious. But after beating him up and berating him so badly in the past, he'd probably never accept her. On top of that, being a shinobi was a risky job, who knows when something might happen to the other. Plus, Tsunade-sama could be very protective of him at times, especially...

"Earth to Sakura-san!"

"Huh?"

"I asked you a question and you just spaced out on me." Yuna was staring at her rather intently.

"Oh... I'm sorry. I was just trying to think of a reason why I wasn't dating Naruto. There are lots of reasons."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. But it's like I said a couple days ago. I have more of a motherly instinct towards him than anything else."

Yuna continued to stare at Sakura, then rolled her eyes and leaned back in the chair.

"I don't know why you lie to yourself. I've dated enough to know when people are in denial about their feelings."

Sakura didn't reply, deciding to keep her mouth shut and see where this was going.

"You probably haven't paid much attention to it, but since we started here, I hear about Naruto from you at least once a week, even when he was away training. Plus, whenever someone mentions anything about you and him being together in any way, even as teammates, you blush."

"I do not!"

"Yes you do. You are now."

Sakura quickly moved her hands to her face, covering her cheeks. They were indeed a little warm.

"All I can say Sakura-san, is that you'd better do something if you feel anything at all, before he gets tired of waiting, or someone else with none of the inhibitions that you have comes along..." She drifted off, leaving the sentence unfinished. But it was easy enough to understand what she was implying.

The kunoichi grumbled inwardly, her hands still covering her cheeks. "We'll see."

Yuna merely shrugged. "I guess so." She smiled. "So now, fill me in about this leave."

Sakura sighed, and wondered how much she could get away with telling the other girl. Most of the time, civilians were not allowed to know anything about shinobi missions, no matter the rank. However, she didn't even know if it could be called mission didn't even have a rank that she knew of. It was more along the lines of an... assignment.

"Well, there isn't really much to tell. Shishou requested the leave for me because she has an assignment for me."

Yuna's face drooped. "That means you can't tell me anything, right?"

Sakura leaned on the counter, and spoke to her coworker in a quieter tone. "I haven't been told that it's an official mission. But I don't really have much I can tell you anyway, because I don't know much other than bits and pieces. Tsunade-sama showed me some paperwork, but I didn't really have enough time to do much other than glance at a few of the pages. From what I could tell, it looks like we're going to be setting up a new outpost somewhere in Fire Country."

"How many people are going?"

Sakura shook her head. "Other than Naruto and myself, I have no idea."

Yuna broke into a wide smile after that comment. "Ohhh, maybe you can get in some quality bonding time with your teammate!"

The kunoichi slapped her forehead and sighed. Apparently, that was all Yuna cared about. After all this time, she realized that there actually is someone out there who is worse than Ino.

"We're going to be gone for a while, so who knows." Sakura figured it was better to appease the other girl in some way, this way she could beat a hasty retreat and not get nagged to death. She began having second thoughts though, when a rather wicked looking grin appeared on Yuna's face.

"If you don't do something, I might have to leak a small rumor about what happened between you and that patient in room 37 three months ago."

Sakura paled. "You wouldn't."

"I'm not gonna sit around while my friend argues with herself over and over regarding liking a guy or not. I definitely will. Besides, everyone loves gossip that involves nudie mags."

Sakura's hands were gripping the counter so hard, there was an audible 'crack' as some of the wood splintered. Yuna's eyes widened and the smug smile dropped from her face, even though Sakura was trying to curl up into a little ball out of sheer embarrassment. Everyone was staring in the direction where the rather loud noise had come from.

"Sheesh, I was just kidding."

"Yeah, sorry." Sakura had her head leaning forward so that her bangs were covering her eyes from both sides. If she couldn't see the people looking at her, she wouldn't have to think about them. "Just tell them to pull some money from my pay to fix the counter, in case anyone asks."

Yuna just nodded. "Well, I know you probably still have some stuff to take care of... you usually do when you get ready to leave for missions. So you go on ahead, I'll take a look at the counter and see if anything needs to be fixed."

Sakura nodded back and thanked her coworker. "Take care Yuna-san. I'll try to visit when I can."

The other girl smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Hopefully you'll have some good news for me regarding you and your teammate when you can, too." She giggled and held up a hand to stop Sakura's retort. "I'd say I'm joking, but I really want you to consider it. Life is short, or so you like to tell me all the time."

Sakura sighed, and nodded once again. "Okay. See you."

Yuna waved at the girls back. Just before Sakura stepped out the door, she yelled out a "Don't forget to write!"

* * *

"I think this is the spot."

Naruto dropped down from the treetops and landed next to Shikamaru, and Konohamaru followed not long after that. On their entire trip so far, they hadn't encountered or even sensed another person.

"It looks... empty." Naruto shielded his eyes from the sunlight with his hand as he surveyed their surroundings. The trees had started thinning out a few minutes back, and when they stopped to listen the last time, the noise of water rushing by could be faintly heard. It was getting louder now, so they were getting closer to a rather large water source.

"Well the map and all the notes were rather vague with what the layout of the land in this area is like. I get the impression that no one has been around here for quite a while." Shikamaru looked up into the cloudless sky. "I still can't believe I got a C rank as my first mission since I became Jounin. Plus, it's sending me into the middle of nowhere."

Naruto chuckled, and apparently Konohamaru was catching on with Shikamaru's favorite term, because he spoke up with a "Troublesome, isn't it?"

Both Shikamaru and Naruto laughed at that. "You can say that again."

"Troublesome, isn't it?"

Now Shikamaru just stared at Konohamaru with a blank expression, while Naruto was trying not to grin.

"Okay funny guy. Get up in the tree and go look around. It's your turn."

The young genin nodded once, gave a mock salute, and jumped up into the nearest tree.

"So, how does it feel being a Jounin now?"

The person who suddenly became the topic of their conversation decided to sit down in the middle of a rather large patch of grass. He plucked a rather large blade and started playing with it between his fingers before he spoke up.

"You know, I think everyone thought that when I became Jounin, I'd stop being so lazy."

Naruto just scoffed at that, which caused Shikamaru to grin.

"Hah, you know me too well. I was actually surprised that I got it. According to Tsunade-sama, out of the last group of fifteen applicants, only two were accepted. They are finally managing to recover from losses during the Sand-Sound war, and as a result they are bringing the promotion standards back up. I didn't really want to become Jounin, but with Asuma-sensei's death I want to do my best to follow in his footsteps, and this is the next step."

Naruto sat down across from Shikamaru at a fair distance, gave a solemn nod, and then stretched. Knowing talks about Asuma were still a rather sensitive topic, he decided to ask another question. "How much were the standards lowered?"

"They dropped the written exam, and only needed a one on three victory against three specially chosen Chuunin based on their abilities, and one recommendation from a current Jounin."

Leaning back into the tall grass, Naruto closed his eyes as the sun washed over his face. "What are they now?"

"Timed written exam, the match against three Chuunin, an obstacle course, and three current Jounin recommendations."

"Figures. I'll never be Jounin."

Shikamaru barked out a small laugh. "Straight from Genin to Hokage, eh?"

"Actually, baa-chan wants me to do something to become a Chuunin before I go on the second part of this mission."

"Interesting."

"I don't really care. I'll go from Genin to Hokage if I have to."

Shikamaru didn't get to reply, if he was going to. Konohamaru chose that moment to reappear.

"There's a river not far to the north from our location. A bit further to the west, and I can see what looks like a building."

Shikamaru nodded. "It's in our patrol range, so lets go take a look."

Naruto hopped up to his feet, while Shikamaru lazily got back on his. A nod from him, and they all took off to the northwest.

* * *

After roughly another fifteen minutes of travel, the arrived at the building Konohamaru saw moments ago. Or what was left of it, anyway. The roof was totally gone, as was nearly the entire southern wall. There were gaping holes in all the other walls at random locations.

"Well, I wonder what this was." Naruto moved up towards the front entrance and cautiously stepped inside. There were various items of broken pottery strewn about, as well as what looked like some pans, and a few rusted, crude looking weapons as well. Shikamaru moved inside with Naruto, while Konohamaru jumped up into another nearby tree to do some more scouting.

Naruto turned to look at Shikamaru, who was looking everything over with a critical eye. "I bet you already know what happened here."

"There was a fight."

"Well that much was obvious to anyone."

Their team leader nodded, and moved forward towards one of the holes in a nearby wall. "No charring, it's as if a section of the wall was punched and it crumbled. That rules out a fire, or electricity. Its jagged in spots too, so it wasn't sliced by wind either. A wind cut would leave it smooth and clean."

Shikamaru took a step back from the wall and looked around the room again. Naruto listened in amazement as Shikamaru began to piece together what might have happened just by looking at the surroundings. "There are chunks of rock strewn about, so that leads me to believe it was a earth jutsu user that did this. I'm not forgetting water, but since there is no longer a roof and everything in here has been rained on, its too hard to tell. So I'll settle with earth for now."

Naruto just nodded. He spotted something that looked like a scroll, but when he went to pick it up, it crumbled apart in his hands.

"Yep, it definitely rained a lot."

"From the looks of things, its probably been years since anyone was here last. Look how bad the rust is on this kunai."

The kunai in question was almost completely covered in rust. Only a few spots of the original silver color were showing through, which was on the side that was facing the ground. Shikamaru threw it against a nearby wall, and pieces of it fell off as it struck the weathered wood.

"Okay, maybe its been quite a few years," Naruto snorted.

Shikamaru gestured to the door. "I don't think we'll find much else in here. We can always come back and check it later. Let's go see if Konohamaru has spotted anything else."

They both walked outside and headed toward the tree that Konohamaru had jumped up into. He must have been finished looking around, because he hopped down as they approached. The young boy started picking a few dead leaves out of his scarf while he talked.

"A little bit more to the east and it becomes mostly grassland with a few trees. I can see a several more buildings, and barely make out the ocean beyond them. Boss, you could probably spot it easy."

Naruto nodded at Konohamaru as Shikamaru spoke up.

"Alright, we're going to be moving slower now since there won't be any trees to push off from when jumping. It's still early, so we don't need to move too fast. Plus I don't want us to be tired when we get to the next buildings, just in case. Were you able to make out any details from what you could see?"

Konohamaru shook his head. "Not really. I didn't see any movement though."

"Very well." Shikamaru turned and started trotting towards the east, Naruto and Konohamaru ran to catch up when they realized he was heading out. When they fell in line next to him, all three sped up and headed out to reach the next set of buildings.

* * *

A short, stocky man landed next to the ruined house. He looked around briefly, then crouched down and waved his hand in a circular motion.

Not more than a few seconds later, two others appeared. The appearance of the female showed her to have a lithe figure, while the other was a male of average height and build.

"Report."

The female spoke up first. "Apparently they are scouting. I wasn't able to pick up on much of their conversation... the wind was blowing in the wrong direction from where I was located. I apologize."

Nodding quickly, the stocky man turned to the other male of the group. "You?"

"I don't sense any ill intent from observing their actions. The one in the green vest seems genuinely curious of his surroundings. The other two appear to be rather oblivious and carefree, I don't see how they could be shinobi."

The leader of the group nodded again, then sighed and scratched the side of his bearded chin. "Either of you notice anything about the one in orange?"

The female nodded, but the male shook his head negatively.

"His features remind me of someone. I think I saw a picture somewhere. But I can't put my finger on it."

"I agree. He looks familiar, but I don't know from where."

There were a few moments of silence as the two members of the group pondered where the boy in orange would be familiar from, until the second male of the group spoke up, "What do we do if they enter the ruins?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"There is nothing there they can take. We've already moved everything important that could be moved long ago. The one thing they could take is well protected." He sighed. "I should probably stop by and check the wards, just in case."

"That would probably be a good idea," the female of the group spoke up. "You never know what the future will bring."

"Indeed." The leader couldn't help but let out a mild chuckle. "Sometimes, that scares me." He nodded in the direction the three shinobi took off in moments earlier.

"Shadow them. Don't interfere. Just watch, wait, and listen. Report back here again tonight at sundown."

The other two took off at a decent clip to follow the Konoha shinobi. Meanwhile, the leader just stood up, stretched, and laughed.

"I'm getting too old for this."

* * *

**Edited:** April 1st, 2009

Up Next: Hyuuga


	4. Hyuuga

Chapter 4

Naruto used his foot and prodded at some of the loose wood on the ground next to what was left from what once looked like a storage shed. He and his current team had been exploring what was left of the small buildings for a few hours now, and they hadn't come across anything of note. He sent out a few Kage Bunshin's when they first arrived to help with the exploration, but none of them had dispelled yet, so he had to assume they were still digging around as well.

Plopping down on a nearby rock, Naruto scratched his chin, then leaned forward and sighed. Shikamaru had told him and Konohamaru to meet up at this spot after three hours, and apparently he was the first one to arrive. He had hoped to have found something - anything, really - that would be worthwhile to report. Unfortunately, all he found were destroyed buildings everywhere. Any attempts to get analytical about their destruction proved fruitless, as they all appeared to have been destroyed in the same manner. Walls were caved in or had holes punched in them. There wasn't a single building anywhere he could notice which had a roof on it, so anything inside all of the buildings had been damaged by rain.

He involuntarily brought his hand to his forehead as foreign memories invaded his mind and became his own. One of his clones must have realized it was time for the meeting, and dispelled itself. Naruto frowned after sifting through the memories, that particular clone didn't find anything of note either. Not that he was expecting much.

"Ah good, you're here."

Naruto didn't turn to acknowledge the voice, but merely nodded. "Yeah, I'm surprised that I beat you here."

Shikamaru shrugged, walking up to Naruto and standing nearby. His eyes quickly scanned their surroundings, then he settled his gaze back on Naruto.

"Did your bunshins find anything?"

"Not so far. But only one has dispelled."

"I see. Can't you dispel them yourself to find out?"

Now it was Naruto's turn to shrug.

"I could, but depending on how much information they have to give me, it could cause me to pass out. Then you'd have to wait for me to wake up anyway. I can't dispel them one at a time, so I have to wait for them to do it if I'm not nearby to give orders."

Shikamaru adopted his thinking pose and was silent for a few moments. While he was thinking, Konohamaru trotted up and greeted them both.

"Hey boss, hey pineapple."

One of Shikamaru's eyebrows shot up at the nickname, but he must have figured it would be too troublesome to comment on, as he said nothing other than 'report'.

Konohamaru shrugged and sighed. "Absolutely nothing interesting. Unless you are fond of termites."

Naruto blanched while Shikamaru shook his head.

"Naruto, your bunshins know the time we were supposed to meet, right?"

Naruto looked up at Shikamaru and nodded slowly. "They get my more recent memories when they are made, plus I told them all before we sep-" Naruto stopped talking, brought his hand up to his forehead again as he closed his eyes.

Shikamaru didn't move, but Konohamaru moved closer to Naruto, looking worried. "Boss?... Boss, what's...?"

"I'm fine, Konohamaru..." Naruto grunted, then leaned forward a bit and started rubbing his temples. "Apparently two of them were traveling together and decided to dispel at the same time. Right after that, another three dispelled, almost right after each other. Give me a moment to go through the memories."

No one said anything for several seconds while Naruto scanned the memories. Konohamaru started idly tugging on his scarf, while Shikamaru appeared deep in thought about something.

Naruto finally spoke up. "Well, none of them found anything from what I could tell, but I think there is still another bunshin out there that I haven't gotten memories from."

"Alright." Shikamaru nodded. "By the way, if you have some time when we get back to Konoha, I'd like to talk to you about the applications of the Shadow Clone Technique."

Naruto smirked, then looked sheepish and scratched the back of his head.

"Sure thing... but I don't know much about it."

"You use a jutsu that you don't know anything about?"

Naruto squinted his eyes and looked at Shikamaru with a sour expression.

"I was twelve years old when I learned the jutsu from the forbidden scroll. You know better than most what my attention span was like back then, being one of my few friends at the time."

Shikamaru looked a bit sheepish, if that was possible, and shrugged. "True, I guess." His face adopted a serious look. Serious for Shikamaru, anyway. "Maybe you should read up on it when we get back. You could still be missing out on some important things."

Naruto groaned. "I'll think about it. Books and I don't get along very well."

"Just nudie mags, right?" Konohamaru chirped.

Shikamaru's eyebrows shot up as he turned to look at Konohamaru. The youngest member of the team was looking at Naruto with a wicked grin, while the latter was giving the young man a death glare.

"I only looked at those for research. You know better than anyone how successful it was." Naruto almost stopped to think before he finished that sentence. He shuddered, thinking how much he had just sounded like Jiraiya.

Konohamaru grinned even bigger and let out a laugh, keeping Naruto from dwelling on those thoughts. "Hah! Yep, its awesome!"

The jounin leader of the group looked back and forth between the two. "While I'm glad to actually see Konohamaru smile, do I really want to know what this is about?"

Naruto turned his attention to Shikamaru, and shrugged. "I don't think you're a pervert so I doubt it will work on you like it has some of our other targets. Maybe when this is over I'll give you a sample."

"We'll have to use the ultimate form if we want it to work on Shikamaru, boss."

Naruto laughed a bit, and nodded. "Yeah, you're probably ri-". Naruto stopped talking mid sentence and grabbed his forehead once again. Konohamaru and Shikamaru were both silent, they'd seen it enough by now to know that another clone had just dispelled.

After a minute of silence, Naruto nodded and stood up, stretching. "Well... that was my last clone. It took him longer to dispel than the rest because apparently he found something."

The other two members of the team both decided to speak up at the same time, pelting him with questions. Naruto held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Whoa guys. Easy. It's nothing big, it just looks like a small shrine that's still intact. But it's a good walk from here and will take a while to get there, if we're going to travel carefully through all this rubble."

Shikamaru nodded. "Very well. Lead on."

* * *

Yamanaka Ino was sitting behind the counter, bored out of her mind. She was currently glancing through one of the many magazines her mothers shop carried about gardening. One of the things she didn't understand is how these magazines managed to stay successful year after year, and they always printed the same things over and over. She was browsing one of the articles that talked about different types of fertilizer when the bell to the entrance of the shop chimed, meaning someone had entered.

Ino looked up to see one of her closest friends move over toward the counter. With an exaggerated sigh, said friend plopped both elbows on the counter, put their chin in their hands, and looked at Ino dead-on.

"I'm bored."

Ino blinked a few times, then casually got up off her stool, rubbed her eyes a few times, and squinted at her friend.

"_Forehead_? Is that really you?"

The pinkette sighed again, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, _Pig_, it's _Forehead_."

The blond girl was clearly startled, as her eyes opened wide. She backed up slowly, and pointed an accusing finger at the girl with pink hair.

"Who are you and what have you done with Sakura?!"

In response, Sakura just groaned and leaned over, resting her head in her arms on the counter. "Boredom makes me go crazy, Ino."

Ino was finally regaining her composure, and walked back up to the counter, though she was obviously still rather stunned.

"I should remember this day. I don't think I've _ever_ heard you say you were bored, and I've known you for a long time."

"Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything I guess."

Ino started twirling some of the loose hair that draped over her right eye around a finger. "So why aren't you at the hospital? You're usually complaining that you're overworked there."

"I'm not allowed to work right now."

Ino suppressed a chortle. "Who did you piss off?"

"No one. Tsunade-shishou is making me take a few days off before I go on an extended mission."

Ino nodded, more to herself than to Sakura since the girl wasn't even looking at her. "Yeah, Hokage-sama briefed the rest of our graduating class yesterday. The only ones who weren't there were you, Naruto, and Shikamaru, but she said that you three already knew all the details."

Sakura finally looked up. "That's right, she said the rest of you would be going on this mission in some capacity. What do you think?"

"About what?"

"Uhm... the mission?"

"Oh." Ino shrugged nonchalantly. "Go somewhere, set up a base for future use, and come back. Doesn't seem like it will take all that long, to be honest."

"Is that all she told you?"

Ino looked confused for a moment. "Yeah, why?"

It was Sakura's turn to shrug. "I was just checking. From what she's told me, it seems that she's giving everyone a different briefing. Or a different amount of information, anyway."

"Are you trying to hint at something?"

Sakura shook her head negatively. "Not really. I guess I should warn you though, that Tsunade-shishou said I could potentially be gone for years."

Ino slammed her hands down on the counter, her eyes wide. It obviously startled Sakura, as the other girl instinctively took a step back from the counter. "_What_?!"

"That's what she said..."

"She told us it may take up to a year to get stuff up and running, but that's it!"

Sakura sighed, and gave Ino a defeated look. "I don't know what to tell you Ino. Maybe she'll brief each of you individually on new tasks once the first part is complete?"

It was Ino's turn to sigh. "Maybe. So what does the knucklehead think of this?"

"The knucklehead?"

"Naruto." Ino was giving Sakura the 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

"Oh. I have no idea what he knows. He was sent out on a mission, and as soon as he gets back we're leaving for this one. I had to pack his stuff a couple days ago. It's waiting in the secure area by the gate."

Ino chuckled to herself. "I bet you had fun sorting through that mess."

Sakura's eyes opened so wide that Ino thought they would pop out.

"How... how did you know it was messy?"

Ino blinked and leaned her head a little to the side before she answered. She didn't look puzzled, but her expression wasn't giving much away. "I'm over at his place a few times a month, Sakura."

Sakura desperately tried to keep her expression neutral, but she could feel her face heating up. She tried speaking as calmly as she could without tripping over any of the words.

"Is there something going on between you two that I don't know about?"

Ino started fiddling with the corner of the magazine on the counter, and took a moment before she spoke.

"Not anymore."

* * *

The various crunches underfoot were the only noises in the entire area as Naruto and his group continued traveling through the remains of the town. The silence was oppressive, and all encompassing. The only sound in the area came from the river to the north, and even it could barely be heard. There were insects all about, mostly termites, but none of them made any noise. Even the few birds they saw were strangely quiet.

"Man, this place gives me the creeps."

"Me too, Konohamaru. I think we're almost to the place my bunshin found."

They had been walking through the ruins of the town for almost an hour now. Everywhere they walked, there was nothing more than rubble, and the inside of any buildings that were still even somewhat standing was in total ruin. Something had come through and totally destroyed everything in the area. It had obviously been this way for a while, there were many vines and other plants that had grown and were starting to overtake everything. There used to be what looked like a path, and occasionally there was the distinctive crunch of some gravel under their feet, but even it couldn't legitimately be called a path anymore.

They had passed through through an area that had a run-down fence surrounding a small pond, but the water was a murky brownish-black. Naruto was confused, because he felt as if he was being 'pulled' towards it. Shikamaru had said they could always come back and check it later, but for now it was probably better to continue with their original objective. Konohamaru had agreed, so they decided to continue moving. As soon as Naruto turned away, the pull he was feeling immediately ceased, which surprised him - though he kept that bit of information to himself. It was obvious that neither of the others were feeling what he did, so there was no need to tell them at the time.

"I think that's it."

Naruto pointed ahead as they walked, and the other two could see a small wooden shack that had vines growing up the sides. The only difference between it and the rest of the broken down buildings around it was that it actually had a roof.

"It has a roof. It must have been built sometime after everything else was torn down. Be careful of any traps."

Naruto stopped and let Shikamaru have the lead again, since he was the team leader. Konohamaru filled into the middle slot and Naruto brought up the rear. As they approached, Shikamaru took in the details. The shack itself was rather nondescript. There was a small overhang over the doorway, probably to keep any rain out - however it had no door. There were two holes in the side walls which also had small overhangs... they were apparently supposed to be makeshift windows. Konohamaru and Naruto hung back and Shikamaru went over to the entrance, and took a look inside.

He examined the inside carefully, then his posture relaxed and he waved for the other two to head over. They trotted up to him, and heard him speak as they approached.

"Looks safe. I don't know what this is for, it looks like some kind of shrine. There's what looks like a bench to sit on, standing room for maybe a dozen people, and two swords on the wall. Thats it."

Naruto peeked in as well. He already had what it looked like in his memories, but it was another thing to see it with his own eyes. He walked inside, and moved up to the swords to look at them. They appeared to be ordinary kodachi. The short swords were sheathed in scabbards that were a rather nondescript dull gray, as were the hilts of both swords.

Konohamaru reached out to touch one of the swords, but Naruto quickly grabbed his wrist and stopped him before he could. Both Konohamaru and Shikamaru looked at Naruto in confusion.

"I wouldn't touch them. My bunshin did and it blew him out of this shack so hard it caused him to dispel. Besides, if this building was built for these swords alone, I doubt whoever built it would appreciate us messing with them."

Shikamaru nodded. "I understand, and agree." He looked around the shack, then back towards the exit. "I think we have enough information on the area to report back to the Hokage. Besides that, our time is almost up for this mission anyway."

Naruto and Konohamaru both voiced their agreement, and the trio left the shack. They started going through their supplies, but before they took off, Shikamaru stopped them and spoke in a low voice.

"We're being followed. Act normal."

Naruto shrugged, which surprised his two teammates.

"There have been three people following us since we cleared the forest. Right around the time we hit the broken building down south."

Both Shikamaru and Konohamaru looked at Naruto in shock. Shikamaru was the one who spoke, though. "You knew this and didn't say anything?"

Another shrug. "I would if more people showed up. But they have kept their distance and followed."

"I see. Maybe we should attempt to talk to them before we go?"

Naruto grinned. "Alright."

Before either of his teammates could say anything, Naruto shouted out, "_Hey!_ Can we talk to you for a minute?"

All the color left Shikamaru's face and Konohamaru looked absolutely flabbergasted. "Boss! Why... did you do that?"

Naruto looked at Konohamaru with a strange look on his face. "I... don't know. But I have a feeling that they aren't dangerous. Merely observers."

If he was going to say anything else, he forgot it and turned around just as a short, muscular man wearing shorts, sandals, and a mesh shirt landed several feet away. The man looked to be in his mid to late fifties, with streaks of gray hair going through his otherwise sandy brown locks. He had a scar that ran along the left side of his face which started in the middle of his cheek, went through his eyebrow, and stopped in the middle of his forehead. Apparently he had a very close call a while ago, another inch and he would have lost his eye.

"Well, I'm going to assume that since you called me out, you aren't going to kill me." The man had a gravelly voice, and let out a deep chuckle after he finished talking.

As team leader, Shikamaru spoke up. "We have no ill intentions, we were merely here on orders to scout out the area. Can I ask why you've been following us?"

The stocky man nodded. "You wandered across my patrol area. I never would have bothered to stop you at all, it's only my job to observe."

Naruto spoke up. "What about your two companions?"

The older man looked surprised for a moment, but then quickly schooled his features. "They are my teammates. They are observers as well." The observer chuckled a bit again. "None of us three with our abilities could detect any ill will coming from your group, so we figured you were merely passing through or scouting. Which you just confirmed you were. Now... do you mind if I ask a question?"

Shikamaru nodded at the man.

"What is Konoha's interest here?"

Naruto and Shikamaru looked at each other, wondering how to explain that they had no clue. Konohamaru apparently was losing interest in the conversation, as he had grabbed a nearby stick and was prodding at the ground with it.

"Actually," Naruto spoke up, "we have no idea why Konoha even wanted us to scout this area, nor why we were chosen to scout it. We've been asking each other the same thing."

The man looked at them, his face full of questions now. "I would say that I see... but I'm afraid I don't. Apparently you are in the dark as well. So it seems we all have more questions than we have answers."

"I have a question." Naruto and Shikamaru turned to Konohamaru with their eyebrows raised. Said boy was still prodding at the dirt with his stick.

"Yes?"

Konohamaru took the stick and pointed back towards the building from where they had just come.

"Do you know anything about that shack?"

The man looked angry for a moment, but it quickly passed. His tone was now sharp and clipped, however.

"That _shack_ is actually a shrine built to honor those who died here. The swords belonged to the leader of this village, and never left his hands until the moment he died. Those of us who survived built that shrine as a memorial with what building materials we could scrape up."

All three members of the team from Konoha looked shocked at that revelation, but it was Naruto who shouted the loudest. "Survivors?! Where are they?"

However, the old man did not answer. Instead, he turned to the side as if to leave, and gave the team a resigned look. "Please, leave us alone. We've been through enough. Konoha got what they wanted, and a lot of good it did everyone. Tell your leaders to stay away from this area. Goodbye."

As soon as he said goodbye, he appeared to melt. He turned completely transparent, then splashed down into a puddle on the ground. No more than a few seconds later, that puddle disappeared.

Shikamaru hummed to himself. "I can still feel his presence, but its moving away swiftly. Interesting mode of transportation." He turned to his team, who were still staring at the spot the man 'dissolved' into.

"I think we can go now."

His two teammates nodded. They all checked their packs, then began their trek back to Konoha.

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi knocked on the door to the Hokage's office. He had a meeting with her that evening. It was supposed to be earlier in the day, but he had received a message from her asking if it could be postponed to early evening, as something had come up that she had to handle. He agreed, and had just arrived a moment ago to begin that meeting.

Hearing no answer from the other side, he knocked once again. Shizune was not at her desk either, so he had no one to ask if the Hokage was even in her office. Sighing to himself, he grabbed the door handle and let himself in.

He walked into the office and his eyes widened in surprise. Tsunade was leaning back in her chair, eyes closed, and snoring lightly. Not wanting to startle her too badly - he'd heard many stories about the power behind her fists - he quietly closed the door behind him and quickly sat down in the chair across from her desk.

Raising his hand to his mouth, he coughed rather loudly into it, hoping it would wake her up.

"Hmmm... no... I won't bet anymore..."

Hiashi coughed again, even louder.

"Hmm..." Tsunade slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times. As she finally started to wake up, she managed to register who was sitting in the chair across from her desk, and immediately blushed.

"Oh... Hiashi-san, my apologies. I've had so much work to do that I've been nodding off at inopportune times."

Hiashi waved his hand in dismissal. "It's fine Tsunade-sama. I know what it can be like, since I'm a clan head. I doubt I'll ever have to do as much as you have to do, but I do understand where you are coming from."

Tsunade smiled. "I appreciate your understanding." She opened a drawer in her desk and sorted through it for a moment, then stopped and looked back at Hiashi. "Would you like a drink?"

Once again Hiashi waved his hand. "Thank you, but I just had my evening meal before this meeting, so I'm quite content."

Tsunade nodded, but grabbed her sake and poured herself some. She took a sip, then leaned back in her chair and looked directly at the Hyuuga head.

"I hope you don't mind be asking you a rather blunt question, but why were you so agreeable with me in the council chambers the other day?"

Hiashi's eyes widened momentarily, then he smiled slightly. Tsunade's eyes narrowed in response.

"Tsunade-sama, do you think I'm plotting something, or trying to gain favor for later?"

Tsunade sighed, then leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands, with her elbows on the desk. "I must admit that I have no idea Hiashi-san. That's why I wanted to talk to you. You've never been as bad as some of the others on the council, but I've never seen you be so agreeable before, especially regarding Naruto."

It was Hiashi's turn to sigh. He averted his eyes and scratched his cheek, which caused Tsunade's alarm to rise yet again. What he was doing was very uncharacteristic of him.

"I realize I may have seemed a bit critical of Naruto in the past. I will admit that a part of me saw him as a demon more than a child. I hated myself for seeing him that way. But it's very hard sometimes for someone to not fall into the trappings of how society views things."

He slouched a bit in the chair as he continued. "When my wife died after giving birth to Hanabi, I became very bitter. I had just lost my brother to the Cloud Village, and was falling into despair. It didn't get better with time either; my oldest daughter, Hinata, kept talking about how she thought this new blond haired boy in school was so funny and courageous. I immediately knew who it was. Being a father, and having a daughter... I'm not too proud to admit that I was jealous of where her attentions were going, even though she was barely seven years old."

"I was lashing out, even if it had no real meaning. Every item that came up regarding the boy, I took the oppositions side. Often, quite emphatically, even though most of my arguments had no basis or were full of holes."

Hiashi stopped talking momentarily and rubbed his chin, as if wondering how to continue. So Tsunade broke the silence.

"What was the first thing that changed your mind?"

Hiashi smiled - making Tsunade flinch again, she wasn't used to seeing him smile - and looked out the window behind her. "Well, it wasn't so much what, as it was who."

"Someone talked to you?"

Hiashi nodded. "Sandaime-sama, Sarutobi Hiruzen, asked me to come to his office one evening, much like you did now. To my surprise, there was someone else sitting there with him, the person who I was usually always at odds with in the council chambers."

"Uchiha?"

Again, Hiashi nodded. "Uchiha Fugaku was in the room as well, waiting for me. I had no idea what they wanted to talk about. What occurred those next three hours totally changed my outlook on the boy. Not so much for the better, but I had to admit to myself that it was worth giving him a shot. Especially considering his parentage."

Tsunade had started to sip on her sake while listening to Hiashi, but upon hearing the last bit of his speech, she immediately turned and spit the sake out.

"Sensei told both of you?!"

"Actually, Uchiha did. Sarutobi didn't look too happy that he had revealed it."

"I still don't understand how Fugaku knew. As far as I knew, there were only two other people, other than myself, who did know."

"Other than you and I, there are four others that I know of who are aware."

Tsunade was stunned. "Four?!"

Hiashi nodded once again. "Jiraiya-sama, Danzou, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura."

"Great. Those three." Tsunade literally growled.

"Regardless of which, something not known to many was that other than Jiraiya-sama, who was Minato-sama's spymaster and confidant for things outside Konoha, Fugaku was widely considered to be Minato-sama's confidant inside Konoha. Anything going on inside Konoha that Minato-sama knew, Fugaku knew as well. Which I understood, considering he ran the Military Police. However, their friendship apparently ran much deeper than that. Deep enough to the point that Fugaku's wife, Mikoto, was midwife for Kushina during her birth of Naruto."

Tsunade was rubbing her temples at this point. This was all quite a lot for her to take in. She would have to talk to Jiraiya and see exactly how much he knew and hadn't told her.

"Minato-sama wanted to keep his child a secret, because a child of the Hokage would be a prime target for anyone from the Rock Village bent on exacting some form of revenge for his participation during the Third War. He expressed his concern to Fugaku, who in turn said Mikoto would be willing to help and keep it quiet. Mikoto wanted to help raise Naruto as well, because she wanted a playmate for Sasuke, who had just been born months earlier. The Uchiha's were closely connected with Yondaime-sama, Fugaku told me that Mikoto was on Minato-sama's genin team. I checked later to verify that, and it was the truth. I had no idea."

Hiashi sighed. "Then Kyuubi happened. Naruto had been born maybe two hours earlier. When Minato-sama came to the hospital room to get Naruto for the sealing, Kushina was in tears, but claimed she would do her best, regardless of circumstances, to raise their son. Mikoto, however, didn't take it so well. She was hysterical, and Fugaku even had to incapacitate her."

Tsunade held up her hand. "Wait... even though Minato was going to die, Kushina said okay?"

Hiashi shook his head. "According to Fugaku, he only told her the basics. That he had to seal part of the bijuu inside Naruto, because his chakra coils weren't formed yet, and it was the only way to save Konoha. He never told her that he had to seal the other part of the bijuu inside himself, and die in the process. At least, that's what the records say."

"That's... horrible."

"I think he knew she wouldn't even let him start the sealing process if she knew he was going to die doing it. Supposedly she had the man wrapped around her pinky."

Tsunade couldn't help but to chuckle a little. "I remember. Speaking of Kushina, what happened to her? She said she would raise Naruto..."

Hiashi looked sad for a moment. "No one knows, or is willing to say. Mikoto went to check her house the next day, and it was empty. The pictures were gone, but everything else was in place. They never saw her again."

After a deep breath, he continued. "Apparently, Fugaku and Mikoto wanted to adopt Naruto into their clan and claimed it was Minato's wish should anything happen to Kushina, but Danzou forbade it. His reasoning was that he didn't want the Uchiha turning the child into a weapon, and that no established clan in Konoha should raise the child. On top of that, he claimed that no one knows what happened to Kushina and insinuated that the Uchiha might have had a hand in her disappearance to get the child."

Tsunade just growled again.

"I agree. But they reached a compromise. Mikoto was allowed to raise the infant until he was two, and then he would be placed in an orphanage. After that, the child would be the Hokage's responsibility. Then Uchiha Itachi watched over his 'surrogate brother' once he became ANBU."

Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

Hiashi frowned. "He was watching over Naruto until the massacre. Apparently the matron at the orphanage found Itachi watching Naruto intently in his room without his mask on. When she walked in, he put her in a mild genjutsu that made her sleep for the next three hours. Then he wiped out the rest of his clan, except Sasuke."

"The rest is history, I guess."

"I believe so. It's still a shame the way things turned out. A part of me can't help thinking that Danzou might have been correct, regarding the Uchiha."

"What? In not allowing them to have Naruto?"

"Yes. Even though he was talking to the Hokage, at times Fugaku seemed rather spiteful towards the man. I thought it was odd, considering his ire should have been directed at Danzou. Maybe he was upset at Sarutobi for not overruling Danzou."

"Sadly, we'll never find out why."

"Most likely not."

Tsunade leaned back and turned her chair so she could look out the windows behind her. The sun was dipping below the horizon, giving many of the buildings below them, and the room they were in, a reddish hue.

"So back to the present, what happened?"

Hiashi folded his hands across his lap. "I promised the two in the room that night I would watch Naruto with an open mind, but that he would still have to prove himself to me like any other shinobi before I give him any preferential treatment. Sarutobi and Fugaku believed that to be reasonable enough, and our meeting adjourned. Gradually over time I've watched Naruto grow up. I watched him defeat Neji in the Chuunin exams, which helped me to understand many things I had been torn over in the past. It also allowed me to lay a few... ghosts to rest, as well as cleaning a few skeletons out of my closet."

"Not long after that, he helped my youngest daughter, Hanabi. Apparently she was being picked on for being a 'brat', and Naruto somehow saved her and beat them up. We have rules in the Hyuuga clan that we are not allowed to harm anyone from Konoha. Hanabi follows those rules too strictly, and as she found out, it was to her own peril. She understood that harming someone from Konoha in self defense is not against the rules. Oddly enough, when I tried to tell her that, she just appeared confused. However, Naruto explained it to her in a way I still don't understand, references to ramen and all. She understood after he explained it."

Tsunade chuckled as Hiashi continued. "Finally, he helped Hinata. I don't know what was going on with the girl, but one day she came home looking extremely depressed. About a week later, Naruto stopped by and asked to talk to her. They must have talked for several hours, but by the time they were done, I had never seen Hinata so happy and... free. I realized too late that I may have been particularly harsh on her, considering the expectations we have for her within the clan. Even though he didn't talk to me about it, he helped Hinata in a way that made me open my eyes. So it was yet another thing I had to thank Naruto for."

Hiashi rubbed his cheek. "Now both of my daughters have a keen interest in the young man. But they are both so reserved about it that I think Naruto is completely clueless." The Hyuuga elder sighed.

Tsunade grinned and chortled at Hiashi's misfortune. "So I guess that means he's proven himself to you. He's become quite the popular one."

Hiashi gave Tsunade a genuine smile for the first time. "He's already a dead ringer for Minato-sama."

Tsunade smiled more brilliantly than she had in a long time.

"Indeed!"

* * *

**Edited:** May 4th, 2008

Up Next: The Garden


	5. The Garden

Chapter 5

The total silence was suffocating. At least, that's how it felt for Ino. Her best friend was sitting on the other side of the counter, staring at Ino with wide eyes, but not really seeing her. The girl had been sitting there for a minute already, not saying a word after Ino finished their last bit of conversation... the implication that she had been dating Naruto. Finally realizing that Sakura wasn't in a mental state that left her capable of speech, she let out a hefty sigh and waved one of her hands in front of Sakura's face.

"Hey. You there?"

Sakura blinked a few times and focused on Ino's face. The girl was definitely blushing, but Ino didn't know if that was out of embarrassment, anger, or because she was thinking about the possibility of Naruto actually dating someone. She started opening and closing her mouth, as if she was going to say something but reconsidering it at some point before any of the words actually escaped.

The corners of Ino's lips curled upward slightly, and the flower girl decided to help her friend along.

"Let me guess, you're wondering 'how', 'why', and 'when'?"

Instead of saying anything, Sakura just snapped her mouth shut, and began to slowly move her head up and down to express confirmation.

Now Ino did grin. "Well, I guess I should start with the why, since everything else will probably fall into place." Ino sneaked a glance at the nearby clock on the wall before doing anything else. "First, though, help me close down the shop for lunch. I'll explain during that, and depending how long this explanation goes on for, you can help me make some deliveries."

Sakura just nodded in response once again as she got up to go lock the entrance. Ino gathered up her things from the counter and helped Sakura finish closing up the flower shop. As they worked in silence Ino would occasionally sneak glances at her friend. Sakura was no longer blushing, however she wasn't talking either, which was unusual; her face was void of any real discernible expression. Ino just guessed that the poor girl had given up trying to wrap her head around Naruto doing something without telling her about it. Ino knew how Sakura considered the boy to be her best friend... of the male persuasion, anyway.

Once they had closed up, Ino suggested they just get some dango. Sakura agreed, claiming that she wasn't that hungry anyway. They started walking towards the dango stand, neither one of them saying anything, and it was starting to make Ino feel uneasy.

"Are you mad at me or something?"

Sakura didn't turn to look at Ino, but kept staring straight ahead in the direction they were walking.

"I'm reserving judgment until after I've heard the story, Pig."

Ino grimaced and let out a sigh. "Fair enough, I guess." Whenever Sakura resorted to using nicknames, it was definitely not a good sign.

They continued walking the rest of the way in silence. Ino didn't feel like talking right that moment, and apparently Sakura wasn't going to say anything until after Ino had told her at least some of the story.

Upon arrival, they both ordered a few sticks of dango. The dango stand was close to one of the many small parks in Konoha, so they headed in that direction. Once they found an empty bench, the two got comfortable and started nibbling on their food. It was then that Sakura finally spoke up.

"Well?"

Ino was looking at the trees, watching the leaves rustle as the wind blew through them.

"Before I start explaining, let me ask a question. Do you know anything about Naruto's hobbies?"

Sakura let out a rather unladylike snort. "What does that have to do with this?"

The blond turned to look at her friend. "A lot, actually. I just need to know some of what you might know already, then fill in the gaps."

Sakura was looking down at one of the sticks of dango in her hand. "As far as he's ever told me, he used to collect coins. But that was not long after we graduated the academy. I don't know if he even still does that. So unless you count annoying me as a hobby, I don't know of any others."

Ino had to hold back a laugh at the last comment, if only because of the seriousness of Sakura's tone when she said it.

"He's a gardener."

Sakura's head snapped around so fast that Ino thought the girl's neck might break. Her facial expression showed confusion more than anything else.

"What? He has a garden?! He's usually bouncing around with so much energy I don't see how he..." She drifted off in thought, until a light chuckle from her friend brought her back.

Ino smiled a little and nodded casually. "Yes, he has a garden. Believe me, I was as surprised as you are when I first found out."

Sakura still looked confused. "But where the hell is his garden, then?"

"At his house."

"But I've never seen it."

"Just because you can't _see_ it doesn't mean it isn't there." Ino added emphasis to the sentence in just the right spot, hoping Sakura was smart enough to catch on.

Comprehension slowly started to dawn on the pinkette's face.

"No way."

Ino flashed Sakura a quick smile. "Yes way."

"But Naruto is horrible at genjutsu!"

At that comment, Ino burst out into laughter. The look of confusion appeared on Sakura's face again, though the girl was clearly beginning to get agitated.

"What's so funny?"

Ino clapped her hand over her mouth, trying to squelch her laughter. She managed to wheeze out a few words after her laughter died down. "Naruto knows you too well."

Sakura didn't say anything more, but Ino saw her hands clenching into fists and figured she should probably start talking fast if she wanted to keep her head attached to her shoulders.

"Once I asked him what you would say when he finally told you about how he hid the garden. He told me what you would say, and it was exactly what you just said. That 'Naruto is horrible at genjutsu.'."

Sakura grimaced. "Well that's great. All he thinks about is my criticism."

"That's not true. He holds you in very high regard. He had a crush on you for the longest time, and still considers you a very close friend."

Ino's best friend seemed to deflate at that comment. She turned her head away slightly, so Ino couldn't see her face.

"_Had_ a crush, huh?"

Ino took a moment and thought over her next words very carefully before she spoke.

"He would never talk to me about you, and when he did, nothing bad ever came out of his mouth. I tried to ask him if he still liked you, and he told me he used to have the biggest crush on you, and that he was rather certain you knew it. When I tried to press him further, I found out he was very good at changing the subject. After a while, I gave up."

"Why did you ask him so much about me?"

"Sakura, everyone and their uncle knew the guy had a crush on you for the longest time." Ino sighed, and brushed her loose bang over to the side of her face. "There were just a few things that came up while we were 'dating' that he wouldn't do, and I thought it was because of you."

"Do I even want to know what those things were?"

"I think you can probably guess." Ino felt herself starting to blush a little, so she turned her face away from Sakura and started looking at the nearby trees again. "If he wants you to know, he'll answer when you ask him. Otherwise he might let me tell you, since even he knows how much I like to talk."

Sakura leaned back on the bench, and started nibbling on her last bit of dango. Ino remained quiet, and let the silence linger. She started watching a young child and their mother talking animatedly as they walked through the park.

"So how did he do the genjutsu?"

Ino kept looking at the mother and child as she answered. "From the way he explained it... he can do it because of how much chakra it takes."

"Huh?"

"I can't say I really understand it either. He tried to compare it to his inability to do the standard bunshin. He has so much chakra, it's hard to maintain precise control, and he could never maintain enough control to make a proper bunshin. He always ended up pumping too much chakra into the jutsu and messed it up. He said it's the same with most of the basic genjutsu that they try to teach in the academy. Because all of the academy genjutsus used minuscule amounts of chakra, but needed quite a lot of control, he could never maintain the control needed for any of them to work."

"So he can use the Kage Bunshin Technique because it uses a lot more chakra, and he can mold large amounts of chakra better than small amounts?"

Ino nodded. "Thats what I could understand when he tried to explain it, at least. The genjutsu he uses to hide his garden uses a lot of chakra since it has to hide a rather large area, so he could actually perform it. He claims it's the only one he can do that he knows about, but he's never really been that interested in genjutsu."

Sakura finished her dango, and leaned forward, placing her elbows on her thighs while resting her chin on her hands.

"I'm going to have to ask him about it."

"He's supposed to be back today right?"

Sakura was quiet for a second, then hummed lightly before speaking. "Yeah, that's right."

"Well you can ask him then." Ino stood and stretched. "Come on, I have to take some fertilizer to his place. You can help me and I'll show you his garden."

Sakura started to stand up. "You still haven't told me how you two got together."

"I know, I'll explain when we get there. Let's go."

She waved her hand for Sakura to follow, and the two girls headed back toward the flower shop.

* * *

Tsunade had just finished the last bit of paperwork Shizune had given her moments ago, and was now currently sitting in one of the chairs near the open window, looking out over the hidden village. It hadn't really grown much during her tenure so far, as they had only just recently finished the last of the reconstruction work from the Sand and Sound invasion of three years ago. The number of active ninja still weren't up to pre-invasion levels, but hopefully they would be within the next year. She couldn't help but be a little antsy, however, since things around the Five Great Nations were quiet. Too quiet. Everyone was at peace, though communication between the nations was at an all time low. Even Akatsuki had apparently dropped off the face of the world... Jiraiya hadn't been able to get any information about them for weeks. They were definitely staying in the shadows.

A few quick knocks on the door brought Tsunade out of her musings.

"Enter."

The door opened, and Shikamaru stepped through. Shortly after, a rather bored looking Konohamaru entered, each of his hands holding onto one of the ends of his scarf while he lightly tugged on it. Naruto followed behind him, and closed the door after he entered. He was uncharacteristically quiet and didn't offer any greeting, which caused Tsunade's mind to start wandering again. All three of them moved to stand at attention in front of Tsunade's desk.

Tsunade slowly stood up and moved to stand behind her desk. She looked at the three of them as she moved, examining their posture and faces. Naruto was neutral all the way around, Konohamaru was slouched and looking bored, while Shikamaru looked like he'd rather be doing something else, as usual.

Once she was behind her desk, she caught Shikamaru's eye and nodded at him... and unspoken command to start his report.

"Well, we arrived at the scouting location without incident. Pretty much the entire area is open land, with a few scattered trees here and there." Shikamaru paused for a moment before he continued with his report. "While we were... traveling through the area, we came across a few buildings that looked like they had been destroyed for quite some time. Some more scouting of the nearby area revealed an entire town that lay in ruins. We examined the ruins and discovered nothing of interest. We were cutting it close to the deadline after we finished exploring the ruins, so we agreed to return and report."

Tsunade gave a curt nod, and looked at all the team members again. None of their postures or facial expressions had changed since they entered the room.

"What did you conclude about the ruins?"

Shikamaru looked toward Naruto, but the blond haired boy did not move at all and continued staring out the window behind Tsunade. Shikamaru turned back to Tsunade, shrugged, and idly scratched at his cheek.

"The destruction wasn't so much random as it was chaotic. I believe it was most likely some form of earth jutsu that destroyed most of the buildings, since there was no trademark signs the other elements commonly leave when used to destroy structures. All the brush and shrubbery was overgrown, wells were dry, and any paths that may have existed at one time were strewn with rubble. If I had to guess, the entire place was destroyed at least a dozen years ago, if not longer. There was one troublesome item there, though..."

Tsunade sat down while Shikamaru was talking. She was leaning back in the chair as he started trailing off. She raised an eyebrow, wondering why he stopped, but Konohamaru picked up where he left off.

"There was a little shack that looked new, in the middle of the ruins. It was small, and there were two kodachi on display inside of it. They didn't look special at all, I don't know why they were in there. But we met this creepy guy that said the little shack was a shrine dedicated to the memory of the people who died there. Apparently the swords belonged to the leader of whatever that place used to be."

Shikamaru was frowning, but he nodded his head when Konohamaru finished. "Yes, we were being shadowed. By three people, apparently. The one who confronted us asked what we were doing there. Since we didn't really know, we told him such. He didn't look like he believed us, but then he didn't really tell us anything of value. However, he did say something that I have been curious about since we left."

Tsunade folded her hands across her lap and nodded. "Ask."

Shikamaru sighed and looked out the window briefly before he spoke. "The man claimed that Konoha got what it wanted. Then he claimed it didn't do anyone any good. After that, he left. He never seemed hostile at any time, so I'm assuming he didn't hate Konoha, but he didn't seem particularly happy to see us either."

The Hokage's eyes were closed now, and her lips were set in a firm line. She opened them slowly, and then looked at all three members of the team once again. Naruto didn't seem to be aware of his surroundings at all, and Tsunade was becoming alarmed.

"I'll explain as much as I can, but first..." She pointed at Naruto. "Why is he spacing out?"

Shikamaru shook his head negatively. "He's been like that the entire way back. He was paying attention while we were traveling, but I haven't been able to get more than a few words out of him."

Tsunade grimaced, then turned to the boy. "Naruto."

He was totally unresponsive. "Na-ru-to!"

Still no response. So she did the next best thing she could think of. She grabbed the clock off her desk, and threw it at his head.

Much to everyone's astonishment, Naruto's arm shot up and he caught the incoming projectile. He frowned as he looked down at the clock in his hands. Sighing lightly, he stepped towards the desk and placed the clock back on top of it. He looked at Tsunade with rather dull eyes.

"Sorry about that, baa-chan. I'm awake now." He stepped back into line next to Konohamaru.

Shikamaru and Konohamaru were still staring at Naruto with expressions that were a mix between shock and amazement. It took a few seconds for Tsunade to regain her wits again as well.

"Naruto. I'd like to hear your thoughts, if you will."

Naruto nodded, once, slowly, then looked directly at her with his piercing eyes.

"The ruins were the capital of the old Whirlpool Country, weren't they?"

Tsunade paled visibly, while Shikamaru's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head if he opened them any wider. Konohamaru was seemingly in the dark, as he looked between everyone in the room, shrugged, and started idly fiddling with the pouch attached to his belt.

The Hokage stood up from her chair and moved back over to the window, unable to believe that Naruto of all people had figured it out - and so soon. She pondered her next words for several moments before answering.

"Yes, those ruins used to be the capital of the old Whirlpool Country. How did you figure it out, Naruto?"

"I don't really know. While we were exploring the ruins, we came across some sort of... pond. It was filled with dirty water, but for some reason I felt as if I was being pulled towards it. We agreed to check it out later, unfortunately we never got the chance. I didn't notice until we were on the way back to Konoha as I was going through my memories of the ruins that after we visited that pond I almost -understood- why things were the way they were there. Then when we found that shrine, and I saw the Whirlpool symbol on those two Kodachi, it clicked."

"But... those swords were plain. I didn't see anything on them..."

"Yeah boss, they were totally blank."

Naruto turned and looked briefly at both of his teammates with a confused expression, then turned back to Tsunade.

"I don't know why they didn't see anything, but I swear I saw the Whirlpool symbol etched into the leather..."

Tsunade turned around as Naruto's voice started to rise, and she lifted her hand to stop him.

"It's okay, Naruto. I would like to believe you. You were correct in stating what the ruins used to be, so I have no reason to doubt you."

Shikamaru looked like he was going insane, there were too many missing pieces to the puzzle. "But that still doesn't explain why Konohamaru and I didn't see anything on them."

Konohamaru scratched the back of his head. "Maybe that old man following us placed a genjutsu or something, and boss saw it before the genjutsu activated."

Tsunade smiled and nodded at Konohamaru. "That is certainly possible. Maybe we should just leave it at that for now until we know more."

Naruto and Shikamaru both shrugged at the exact same time, which made Tsunade grin a little wider.

"Well I'm definitely impressed at your discovery. I thought I'd have to explain the situation, but Naruto seems to have taken care of that for me." She looked directly at Shikamaru before she continued, "As for the question regarding what Konoha gained from Whirlpool, I'll have to delay that particular explanation until the next briefing, which will be tomorrow. Shikamaru, your briefing will be first thing tomorrow morning. You and your team will be departing just before noon. You can go ahead and have the rest of the day off since you've already packed."

Shikamaru gave a brisk bow. "Thank you, Hokage-sama." He casually made his way towards the door at the back of the room. Meanwhile, Tsunade started talking to Konohamaru.

"You're going to form back up with Moegi and Udon for the time being, but since Ebisu is away on a mission I will be giving you assignments directly. Go find your teammates and tell them to meet me here tomorrow morning as well so I can give you an assignment."

Konohamaru just nodded and smiled a little, then turned and bolted for the door. He almost knocked Shikamaru over on his way out the door, to which the lazy jounin muttered 'troublesome', then closed the door behind him as he exited.

Once the door closed, Tsunade let out a sigh and turned to the blond haired jinchuuriki. "What happened to you, Naruto?"

Naruto looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Concern was clearly visible on Tsunade's face. "You've been spacing out for most of the meeting, your reflexes you showed earlier were unlike anything I've ever seen you do before, and even now you'd normally be grinning like an idiot and telling me to stop worrying because there is nothing wrong."

Instead of grinning like usual, Naruto gave her a sad smile. "I don't know, but whatever that pool in the ruins we came across was, it feels like it's been trying to blast a message into my head the entire time."

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched, while signs of worry started to darken her features. "That can't be good."

Naruto's gaze traveled to the window once again. "It's telling me to 'grow up'."

This time, she snorted. "Okay, maybe it is good after all."

If Naruto heard her, he didn't move or say anything to indicate such.

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Naruto sighed, and his shoulders sagged slightly. "Ever since we left, I've felt like something has been tugging on my very soul to get me to go back there. I don't know what it is, but I've got this feeling I'm missing something."

"That causes me some concern, but you'll be heading back out there for your next mission, so I'm going to add it on your list of things to investigate while you're out there."

If possible, Naruto actually looked relieved at that. Shortly after, he looked surprised.

"That was weird. I felt relieved, and I don't know why. Now the pull has stopped."

Now Tsunade's interest was definitely piqued. "I think you should make the investigation your priority, if this... pool, or whatever it is, seems to have that much influence over you. However, you will still have other tasks to complete. Speaking of..."

Tsunade moved over to her desk once again, and opened a drawer. She grabbed a scroll on top, and tossed it at the teen. "That's your Chuunin test. If you pass that, you're officially a Chuunin. I talked with the Council, and amazingly they agreed many of your talents are at least at the level of a Tokubetsu Jounin."

Naruto's eyes kept getting wider and wider as she spoke.

"The mission you're going to be put on will look a lot better if it's being led by a Jounin instead of a Chuunin, so the Council also agreed that if you ace that test, or come close to it, they will let you run the old Gauntlet and consider a promotion to Tokubetsu Jounin. I need your answers to that test by tomorrow at noon, and if you do well enough, the Gauntlet will take place shortly after. You'll get your mission briefing that evening at six, regardless of the results. Now go home and get some rest."

"But... when am I supposed to pack for the next mission?"

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "I already had Sakura take care of it."

Naruto grimaced a little. "But... she's... my friend, not my maid."

"She said she would do it when I asked, and didn't complain. She did it _because_ she is your friend. Now go. I don't want to see you again before you're ready to hand in that test."

"Okay. See you tomorrow, Tsunade-sama."

The Hokage froze. She frowned, and called out to Naruto before he closed the door behind him.

"What happened to baa-chan?"

Naruto peeked his head in the room, and gave her a bright smile.

"You're my one and only!" His head disappeared from behind the door, and it closed with a soft click.

Tsunade smiled to herself as she looked out the window once again.

* * *

The sunset in the distance was causing the edges of the leaves to appear as if they were glowing a dull red. Almost the same color as the eyes of the man who now sat on top of a rather large rock; one nestled on a hillside that gave him a good overview of the surrounding lands. He would never tell anyone, but views like this were one of the few things that he felt he could actually appreciate in life. His companion however, did not seem to follow along his line of thought, and was letting him know it too.

"Can we move already, Itachi? I've been exploring the woods nearby for the past three hours trying to find our third teammate, while you haven't moved from that spot, and it's really starting to fucking piss me off."

Itachi didn't say a word, but slowly stood up and hopped off the boulder. Landing silently in front of his partner, he looked up and stared directly into his eyes.

While his much taller partner stared back at him with nearly the same amount of intensity, he was obviously growing uncomfortable. Sweat started to appear on his forehead and one corner of his mouth started to twitch. A few more seconds into the staring contest and Kisame grunted and turned away.

"I don't know why you insist on doing that, when talking would be so much easier." The tall man with shark-like features sighed as he walked over to the edge a small cliff on the hill and hefted his sword Samehada onto his shoulder. "There's no reason to try to intimidate me. Besides that, it's just fucking... creepy."

Itachi turned to look out over the forest once again, and started adjusting his cloak.

"It is pointless to go searching for our third partner. If he wanted to be found, I'm certain you would have found him easily. He is just running late." He stopped adjusting his cloak and moved his gaze more towards Kisame. Said nukenin was looking back at Itachi over his shoulder with an eyebrow raised. "It is also pointless to blame me for his tardiness, considering I am stuck waiting here with you. If you are looking for someone to place the blame upon, I suggest you talk to Pain or..."

There was a crashing noise below them, along with the sound of several snapping tree limbs. The gazes of both Itachi and Kisame quickly traveled to the bottom of the hill. The Uchiha hadn't moved, but Kisame was crouched slightly and had his sword at the ready. When he saw who it was, however, he straightened up and returned his sword to his shoulder.

"Well well... it's about time."

"Tobi is sorry! Tobi is so sorry! I took a wrong turn at the last village and ended up where I didn't want to be. Then I had to figure out where I was, and when I did I realized that it wasn't where I needed to be! So I ran back to the village and figured it out, and here I am!" Tobi was scrambling up the hill as he spoke, tripping over loose rocks and various roots before arriving in front of the other two members of Akatsuki.

Kisame just stood there looking like he swallowed something sour, while Itachi was staring at Tobi with his sharingan spinning wildly. Tobi was looking back and forth between the two, but finally settled on Itachi once Kisame grunted and started walking back down the hill.

"Eh... uhhhh, huh. Itachi-sempai, why are you looking at Tobi like that? It's creepy!"

"I'm wondering why you insist on acting like an idiot."

Tobi twitched and stood rigidly for a second, then looked in the direction of Kisame, who was now at the bottom of the hill looking back up at them, waiting.

He turned back to face Itachi and clapped his hands and yelled loud enough for Kisame to hear, "What do you mean? Tobi is Tobi! No one else complains... except Deidara-sempai, but he's awesome so it's okay."

Tobi's hands dropped to his sides, and there appeared to be a faint red glow in the opening at the front of his mask. He spoke again, barely loud enough for Itachi to hear, "Besides, it always helps to be underestimated." That said, he quickly turned around and started tripping down the hill after Kisame. "Wait for me, Kisame-senpaaaiiii!"

Itachi followed, slowly but deliberately making his way down the hill. The entire way he could hear Tobi talking excitedly to Kisame, but didn't bother paying much attention to the words. Kisame, on the other hand, looked like he was about ready to take Samehada and club Tobi over the head with it a few times.

"Did you bring us the updated information on our bounty target?"

Tobi immediately stopped his rambling when Itachi spoke, turned to face him, and started nodding vigorously. "Yes! Yes! I spoke to an informant... or maybe he was a spy... in the last town I was at... before I arrived here with you guys... where I am now... and he said that the person we are looking for passed through a week ago... 7 days!"

Itachi said nothing, but Kisame was clearly ready to rip Tobi to pieces.

"A week ago... unbelievable. I thought the information you gathered LAST WEEK told us he was supposed to be here THIS WEEK?!"

Tobi was cowering as Kisame glared down at him. "But.... but.... I thought..." Suddenly Tobi burst out laughing, which made Kisame stare at him in total confusion.

"HAH! Tobi was just playing with you. The target is 2 miles from here, in a secluded shack so he won't be found. But he is an S Rank nukenin from Lightning Country, so we will have to be caaaaareful!"

Kisame stared at the shorter man incredulously for several moments, then shook his head and placed Samehada on his shoulder once more. "Then lead the way before I decide to rip off one of your legs because you're really grating on my nerves..."

Tobi jumped up and started skipping away. "Yes yes, sorry.... follow me!" A grumbling Kisame fell into step behind him, while Itachi took the rear, his face filled with what resembled utter contempt while looking at the back of their temporary teammate on this assignment.

* * *

The door to Naruto's apartment was not locked, as usual, so Ino had no trouble opening the door before dragging one of the small bags of fertilizer behind her inside. Behind her, Sakura was following with the second bag.

"Just set the bag over there against the wall for now, I'll show you the garden first. After that, I'll take you through my normal routine if we have time."

Sakura nodded at her friend and set the bag down where she was instructed, next to the other one against the wall. Ino had passed through an open doorway towards the back of the apartment, and was currently standing at the end of that hallway, staring at the wall at the end of it. She chuckled to herself while giving the wall a once-over.

"Have you ever looked at this wall and ever thought it looks rather bare, when all of his other walls have at least one picture on it?"

Sakura looked around the limited space in the hallway, and then leaned to the side to look in one of the nearby rooms. They all did have at least one picture or other item on them. "Actually, I never really paid attention to that before. But yeah, it is curious."

Ino nodded and stepped back from the wall she was looking at and gestured for Sakura to move up in her place. The girl did as she was instructed, and carefully analyzed the wall. She looked at the corners of the wall where it connected to the other walls, ceiling, and floor to find any potential weak spots to realize the genjutsu... but found none. Scrunching her brow up in concentration, she started carefully going over the wall to detect any signs of chakra at all. There was nothing along the very top, sides, or bottom, so she started working her way into the middle...

Her eyes opened wide. "Found it!"

Ino just grinned. "Not bad, huh? I never found the key on my own. He had to show me."

Sakura just stared at the fake wall with disbelief etched across her features. "I can't fathom how... he was always horrible at genjutsu... but this one almost rivals some that I've seen Kurenai-sensei use!"

"No one can deny he's the most unpredictable ninja we have, that's for certain."

The pink haired kunoichi nodded, then raised her hands to form a symbol, raised her chakra levels a bit, and focused on the 'key' of the genjutsu.

_"Kai!"_

The effect was almost immediate. The current wall started to melt away, to reveal glass and a lot of green behind that. Sakura just stared on in disbelief.

"He has an entire greenhouse... at the back of his apartment?"

Ino nodded, and explained as she moved forward to open the door. "Yep, I don't think anyone has ever bothered to check, or even ask about this apartment. Naruto has the entire top floor to himself, but only really ever uses the few rooms you're familiar with. I'd say this greenhouse is about three times the size of the rooms he uses to live in." Both of them entered the greenhouse, and while Ino immediately went to check on some of the plants, Sakura just stood there for several moments and sniffed many of the unique aromas before she started moving.

Sakura was walking slowly, looking around and taking in every detail. It was incredible. The entire back of Naruto's apartment was nothing but glass, making it a perfect greenhouse. It was almost like a jungle, there were so many different plants of all kinds. She couldn't even begin to identify the handful she saw in front of her.

"You probably wouldn't recognize a lot of the plants from this first room, because they are supposedly species that Naruto created himself. You'd probably like what's in the room all the way in the back, it's where he grows all the various medical herbs," she heard Ino's voice tell her through some of the foliage.

Sakura was completely torn, and found herself breathing heavily. It finally came crashing down like a weight on her mind and heart.

She didn't really know who Naruto was at all.

Ino walked around a corner and saw her friend standing still, looking straight up through the glass to the sky. She slowly approached Sakura while trying to make noise so as to not startle the girl. She gently placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder and squeezed. Sakura's gaze came back down, but then fell to the floor.

"Ino... I just realized, I don't really know Naruto much at all, do I?"

"I think you know him better than I do."

Sakura looked up and stared straight at her childhood friend. "But if what you've hinted at is true, you've been closer to him than I have."

Ino looked away for a moment and sighed before shrugging and looking at Sakura with a sad smile. "I don't think I was ever any closer to him than you have ever been. He wouldn't let me get close." She looked around and spotted a bench nearby. Motioning for Sakura to follow, they both went and sat down. Ino leaned back and took a deep breath glancing at Sakura from the corner of her eye.

"I didn't really try to get to know Naruto until I found out about this greenhouse. Even if I treated him kinda bad when we were little kids, I did think he could be rather annoying back then. However, even I have to admit he always was kinda cute, in a way."

Ino knew a slight blush was growing on her cheeks, but didn't feel ashamed about it at all. She turned her head slightly to look at her friend, who was leaning forward with a small smile on her lips. She had a light reddish hue to her cheeks as well.

"As time went on, I found out that we had a huge similar interest when it came to plants. My interest was more in live flowers and flower arrangements, while his was more in the actual growing of those flowers. I thought he was a hard worker and respected his work in this garden, and one day when we were both working here I asked if he felt like going to get lunch."

Ino chuckled before she continued, and Sakura turned a little on the bench to look at her. "Well, the poor kid turned beet red and started stuttering. I asked him what the hell was wrong all of a sudden, and he looked like he was ready to panic. Eventually I managed to understand the word 'date' out of his stuttering. I laughed at him at first and told him I wasn't even thinking about that, I was just hungry and asking if he was too, because I could ask my mom to make some extra food for lunch."

Sakura was grinning a little too now. "He calmed down after that, but then I just had to tease him." Both girls started snickering, while Ino had an evil glint in her eye. "I grabbed his arm, which made him blush again, and said that if he really wanted to go on a date with me, I'd be happy to. Then I dragged him to his room, told him to get changed, and meet me at my house. He showed up about fifteen minutes later, knees shaking like crazy."

Ino leaned back on the bench, smiling at the memory. "My dad was actually home and answered the door, and decided to embarrass both of us by yelling that my boyfriend was there. My mom was fussing all over the poor boy, I couldn't tell if he was going to pass out or bolt for the door at any moment. Luckily my parents are pretty cool, and for some reason my dad seems to really respect Naruto, so they went easy on him. I didn't see him at the shop for two weeks after that. The next time I saw him, he bought some stuff for his garden, apologized for avoiding me, and asked me to come over to help him later and have lunch at his place. We just kind of hit off after that."

Now Ino sighed and her expression mellowed out. "I thought we might have had something going on, but any time I tried to get close to him, he got distant. A few times I went into bitch mode," Sakura winced at that, "and accused him of pretending I was someone else when we were doing things together. He would apologize, but it never went beyond that. Like I told you before, a few times I tried to pry information about you out of him, but whenever your name came into any conversation, he changed the topic. It wasn't too hard to figure out he still had a crush on you."

Sakura's face had been changing colors throughout Ino's speech, but it was currently the reddest it had been through the entire talk. After neither of them spoke for several moments, Sakura finally asked a question in a rather meek voice - Ino had to strain to hear her.

"So why did you say before that you aren't together anymore?"

Ino sighed once again, and frowned. "Well, we never were truly 'together'. The thing that finally killed the friendship we had, though? I was an idiot and tried to kiss him."

Sakura visibly stiffened, but she refused to look at Ino. Her fists were tightly clenched at the front of her skirt, and Ino could easily see that her knuckles were white.

"I had given him little pecks on the cheek and forehead before, as thank yous or whatever, which he didn't seem to mind. At first he always used to blush like crazy, but then I guess he got used to them. I tried to kiss him on the lips about two weeks ago, though... and he totally freaked out on me. He just kept repeating 'no', 'I'm sorry', and 'I just can't do it' over and over, no other explanation. I haven't seen him since. I think he's been avoiding me again."

Sakura looked like she was getting ready to say something, but another voice cut her off before she could speak.

"I was scared, Ino-chan."

Both girls bolted up off the bench and exclaimed, "Naruto!" at the same time.

Naruto just grinned. "In the flesh!" His face quickly adopted a more serious expression. "I'm sorry Ino-chan. I haven't been avoiding you, but shortly after you left, Ero-sennin stopped by and dragged me off on a mission." As he was talking, he turned and started walking towards one side of the greenhouse. Both girls started to follow after him. "Since I got back from that, baa-chan sent me right back out on another mission. I'm back again, but I'm going to be leaving again soon."

Sakura spoke up before Ino got the chance. "We know all about it Naruto. Most of us are going too. I packed your stuff yesterday."

Ino turned and looked at Sakura with a raised eyebrow. "Ah, thanks Sakura-chan! That's a big help." Even though his back was turned to them, you could hear the smile in his voice. Both of the girls watched as he started rummaging around on a desk that was against the wall near the door where they entered. He was using his free hand, as his other hand was holding some papers.

"Why can I never find a pencil?"

"Bottom left drawer, remember?"

"Oh, heh. Thanks Ino-chan. I totally forgot."

Ino sighed and slapped her forehead, making Sakura giggle while Naruto turned around and grinned at them both. His gaze soon focused on Sakura.

"So... what do you think, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura gave Naruto a small smile before she looked around her again. "It's amazing! Naruto, I had no idea you had this hobby."

Naruto was still grinning, and scratched the back of his head. "Heh, yeah, I usually try to keep it quiet. Only Ino-chan, her parents, baa-chan, and Shizune-oneechan really know about it. I'm kinda embarrassed for anyone else to."

Both girls looked at Naruto with quizzical expressions. "Why embarrassed?" Sakura asked.

"It's not really a hobby that guys have, even if it is a really useful hobby. I don't know any guys who have said they like to garden."

Ino laughed, and both Sakura and Naruto looked at her with wide eyes. "Who cares if other guys like it?! All girls LOVE flowers, you dolt. It's the girls attention you want... unless..."

Naruto just looked confused, so she continued. "... unless... it is guys that you like?" Ino had a wicked looking grin on her face, while Sakura blanched. Naruto's eyes were getting bigger, but it didn't look like he had fully caught on yet. So she took it up another notch. "After all, wasn't your first kiss with Sasuke-kun?"

She heard a gasp from Sakura next to her, meanwhile Naruto finally looked like he was ready to burst. He started waving his arms frantically and shaking his head no, while trying to stutter out a rebuttal. "What do you... first.... I like girls a lot, just look at Sak..."

If the boy could become even more red, he would... he was obviously biting his tongue so he wouldn't say anymore. Ino's wild grin became more of a small smile, though her eyes still held that mischievous glint. Sakura was standing next to her, rigid as a statue.

"Jeez Naruto, I was just playing around with you. No need to take it so seriously."

Said boy looked at her and seemed to calm down, but he didn't appear to be willing to trust himself to say anything appropriate yet, so he kept his mouth shut. Since the silence was starting to get uncomfortable, she decided to change the topic back to the garden.

"Hey Naruto, I'm sure Sakura is curious as to when you picked up this hobby. I think it would sound better coming from you, rather than me."

Naruto nodded and gave her a small smile as a silent thanks, then turned back to his nearby desk and started rummaging around through the top drawer. Finding what he was looking for, he grabbed a small blue notebook that looked rather worn, and walked towards the girls. As he approached them, he offered the notebook to Sakura, who took it and looked at it curiously. She checked both the front and back covers, and noticing nothing out of the ordinary, opened up the front cover. There was some writing on the inside.

"This is the journal of UK." Sakura looked down lower on the page, where there was more writing that was smaller in size. "Soon to be NK. There's a little heart drawn next to the letters NK." She looked up at Naruto before talking again. "What does that mean? Who or what is UK?"

Naruto was giving her an undecipherable look, and merely shrugged. "I have no idea. Sarutobi-jiji gave me that soon after I became a ninja."

Ino's eyebrow arched up. "You mean the Sandaime?"

Naruto looked at her briefly and nodded. "Yeah. You know how it is with me and authority figures." After tossing Ino a small grin, he turned back to Sakura. "He said that he found it when he was cleaning out his office one day, and had no idea where it came from, or how it could have gotten into his office in the first place. He thought that maybe some visitor left it there by accident, and one of his aides just filed it away. Anyway, after he looked through some if it, there were a lot of notes on gardening in it, so he said I might like to read the notes in that journal and try my hand at gardening. I didn't really want to at first, because I thought gardening was for sissies, but he said it would help my concentration."

Naruto started scratching the back of his head absentmindedly as he talked. "I guess it did, I'm not really sure. I know when I'm in here, I'm able to concentrate more than when I'm anywhere else. I think it's some kind of calming effect. The journal has a lot of meditation techniques in it too. Other than that, it's a pretty good little book, and I'm not someone who enjoys reading. I like it, though it's too bad it just ends abruptly. The author was definitely a girl though. She keeps talking about this guy she really likes, NM, and that he's really strong, but it doesn't really go into much detail. But there are tons and tons of notes on gardening and raising different plants."

As Naruto kept talking to Sakura, Ino stepped back a little and observed. Naruto was talking faster and getting more excited... which Ino assumed because it was someone else he could let in on his secret, and that someone else just happened to be the person he had a crush on since forever. Ino smiled as she listened to him talk, while Sakura asked the occasional question. The blond haired girl cared quite a lot about the boy in front of her, definitely more than she thought she ever would when she was younger. While she thought it would be fun to go on a few dates with him, just to 'see' if it would work out, she knew deep down that there was only one person he would ever think about when it came to that kind of relationship. But just because that one particular avenue was closed didn't mean that there weren't other ways she could show she cared.

She stepped forward and cleared her throat. "Naruto."

Naruto and Sakura stopped talking, and both turned to look at her.

She bowed forward apologetically. "I'm sorry for interrupting. I need to let you guys know that I have to go help mom set up the shop for the evening, so I need to get going. But before I leave..." Ino paused for a moment and calmed her breathing. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for trying to kiss you, Naruto."

Sakura blushed, and Ino knew that she had to be blushing too, though out of embarrassment rather than any kind of desire. Amazingly, Naruto was the only one that wasn't, though he did have a rather sheepish looking smile on his face.

"Yeah, Ino-chan, I'm sorry I acted the way I did too. I was thinking about it a lot while I was on my mission with Ero-sennin, and felt really bad because I didn't get a chance to talk to you about it before I left." It was Naruto's turn to take a deep breath before he continued. "I'm an orphan, so I was scared because I'm not used to receiving any kind of affection like that. However, after thinking about it a lot, I don't want to lose the friendship we have so I don't think it's a good idea..."

"...idea for us to continue going on anything like or called dates. I know."

Both Naruto and Sakura were looking at Ino with wide eyes.

"I thought about it a lot too, while you were gone Naruto. I do like you a lot, yes, but I think my liking you comes more from feelings of admiration and respect than any kind of... well... lust. I'll admit, my attempted kiss was more of an experiment than anything else, which is why I felt so bad after I tried to. Even if I did feel any kind of lust for you, we're both too carefree, and I don't think I have the kind of power which is needed to pound you into submission when you go crazy."

Sakura was looking all around the greenhouse, trying to hide her face from Ino and Naruto. She had obviously gotten the hint that Ino had subtly planted in that sentence, though Naruto was just giving Ino his typical stupid grin. He only took the comment at face value. Plus the fact that she just got to hear her best friend confess to her teammate. It was a different kind of confession, but a confession nonetheless.

"I know that both of my parents like you too, Naruto. My dad told me that he respects you and admires your courage a great deal. I think I know why, but I'll confirm my guess with you some other time. I know this might seem kind of weird, after things that have happened, but I hope you'll be okay with it. If not, I'll be sad but I'll understand. I hope we can still be friends even if you say no."

Ino quickly walked up to Naruto and wrapped her arms around his torso in a tight hug. Sakura was staring with wide eyes and a hand covering her mouth in shock, while Naruto was just standing there, completely rigid.

"You know, I always wanted a little brother."

Ino stood there hugging Naruto, and she was preparing herself for the moment when he pushed her away. Instead, she felt him begin to gradually relax in her ams, and gently wrap his arms around her as well.

"I think having a sister would be nice."

Ino felt her eyes starting to mist up, so she gave him a quick squeeze and then pulled back, blinking rapidly so she wouldn't cry. Naruto was just giving her one of the biggest smiles she had ever seen, while Sakura was in the background smiling as well, both hands clutched together, holding the journal against her chest.

"Well, I need to get going, but before I do..." She pointed down towards the papers that Naruto had in his hand. "Good luck with your Chuunin test, Naruto-kun." She blinked and stared at Naruto for a few seconds, then stuck her tongue out a little and winked at him. "Otouto."

Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, smiling the whole time. "I'll do my best, um... oneechan."

Ino smiled again, then waved goodbye to her friend and new adopted brother as she walked toward the exit of the greenhouse. She stopped for a moment in the doorway, then turned around and yelled so that Naruto could hear.

_"Naruto! Dinner is at eight! Be over by then, or Mom will be upset!"_

Both Naruto's and Sakura's eyes went wide, and Naruto yelled back a hasty, _"__Okay, I'll be there!"_

Sakura was still smiling over the recent events, and walked toward Naruto. She remembered the journal still in her hands, and offered it to him as he turned to face her.

"This is yours, Naruto. I guess congratulations are also in order, for having a big sister now?" She gave him a crooked smile and a quick hug.

Naruto was shocked once again, but managed to return the quick hug before Sakura pulled away, and he also managed to keep his blushing under control somehow. "Thanks Sakura-chan. That means a lot."

Sakura gave Naruto a wicked grin. "But now that you have a big sister, you realize she's probably going to want to take you shopping, tell you about other boys she likes, and stuff like that, right?

The blond jinchuuriki's face went white. "Really?"

If possible, Sakura's grin got even bigger. "Really. Thats what siblings do. She's going to want to hear all about the girls you like too..."

Naruto looked like he was going to have a panic attack. "Thats... thats bad! Really bad! She might think I'm a pervert..." He suddenly felt some killing intent pointed in his direction.

"Why would your sister think you are a pervert... are you having hentai thoughts again?"

Naruto quickly tossed the journal and test papers on the nearby desk and bolted for the door, with a cursing pink haired kunoichi chasing right behind him.

* * *

**Edited:** May 4th, 2009

Up Next: Revelations


	6. Revelations

Chapter 6

The early afternoon sun was just beginning to peek out from behind the trees off to the east of Konoha. Naruto was sitting in the reception area down the hall from the Hokage's office, waiting for the Godaime to finish reviewing his Chuunin candidacy test with her two advisors. The test itself wasn't that difficult overall. There were no academy-styled questions that he always had a hard time with. They were all 'what if?' styled questions, presenting him with various scenarios and asking what the best course of action for each scenario could be.

Naruto had several hours last night to think about what he would do in the five different scenarios before he wrote anything down. He had gone to the Yamanakas' house for dinner, and both of Ino's parents were absolutely thrilled about their newest addition to the household. Ino's mother, Sumi, was totally ecstatic and kept pampering Naruto the entire time he was there, even offering to let him move into the spare room at their house to live with them off and on if he wanted to.

Inoichi, on the other hand, was quiet for most of the night. He was obviously happy, he spent most of the night smiling and making small talk with Naruto when he could, but his wife was doing most of the talking so he seemed content to sit back and listen. His wife and daughter knew Naruto much better than he did, considering how often one or both helped the boy with his garden.

Of the three Yamanakas, Inoichi was the first to notice that Naruto must have had something on his mind. Sumi passed it off as nervousness, and Ino was most likely just ignoring it, but Inoichi had noticed that when no one was talking to him the boy seemed to drift off. His eyes would glaze over, eyebrows scrunched up, and his hands would be restless and fiddling around with the zipper on his jacket. Upon inquiry, Naruto told Inoichi that he had been given a Chuunin candidacy test that was due to the Hokage by the following morning. While surprised at the rather unorthodox method to giving Naruto a promotion since there was usually a tournament, he offered to give Naruto some advice. Since he had never been told that he wasn't allowed to ask anyone else for help with the test, Naruto readily agreed. The two spent several hours going over the scenarios, with Ino tossing in some comments here and there whenever she had free time to stop and listen.

Naruto smiled as he remembered last night, it was the first time in his fifteen years that he could remember sitting at a table and eating with people who felt like family. Even if it was only the first night, he knew Ino and her mother very well already, so he was immediately comfortable with them. Ino's father was somewhat of an unknown factor, as he had only met the man a handful of times before, but he had immediately taken a liking to him the moment he offered to help Naruto with the test. Ino's father was an incredible shinobi with nearly two decades of experience, and one of the several dozen shinobi who were in Konoha at the time of the Kyuubi attack and managed to survive.

When Inoichi mentioned the attack, Naruto cringed, and was prepared for the verbal lashing he almost knew was going to come. However he was completely surprised when the older ninja grabbed his shoulder and looked him in the eyes, explaining that he admired the boys perseverance and courage, as well as continuing to keep Konoha safe. Inoichi claimed it reminded him of someone else, but whenever Naruto tried to ask who, Inoichi deflected it and said that it wasn't important at the time.

A door opening snapped Naruto from his reverie, and his focus shifted from the window he was looking out over to the only door in the room. Shizune poked her head in the door, and upon spotting Naruto sitting in the chair, immediately smiled and stepped inside.

"Naruto-kun. How are you this morning?"

Naruto smiled back, and stretched as he answered. "I'm alright. A little tired since I was up really late last night trying to finish that test."

Shizune nodded and folded her hands together in front of her. She turned and walked over to the window, then took a brief glance outside. Tonton was slowly trotting around her feet, sniffing the ground.

"Did baa-chan send you to get me?"

"Yes, but we can take our time. She said they still needed a few more moments of discussion before they would be ready to see you. We can head towards Tsunade-sama's office, and if they aren't ready yet we can wait outside over there." As she was talking, she bent down and scooped Tonton into her arms, then turned and headed back towards the door.

Naruto got up and smiled at her. "Did they say anything to you about me at all?"

Shizune shook her head negatively. "No. They wouldn't talk about the test while I was in there either."

Naruto sighed and shrugged. His smile was replaced with a slight frown, but overall he still appeared to be in a good mood.

Shizune gestured to the hallway, and Naruto stepped out of the room, with the Hokage's first apprentice not far behind. On the way down the hall they made small talk, Shizune asking if he had breakfast, to which Naruto replied with a negative. He barely woke up in time to make it here for his appointment. After scolding him gently about not eating breakfast and learning to treat his body right, they arrived in front of the Hokage's office door. Shizune knocked twice and peeked her head in the door, exchanging a few muffled words with the people in the room.

Barely a minute later, she leaned back out and gave Naruto another big smile and gestured at the door. "They're ready for you. Good luck, Naruto-kun."

Naruto gave her a small smile, took a deep breath, and stepped in. Upon entry, his eyes quickly scanned the room to see who was in it. There were only three, as he had been told. The Hokage and her two aids, Homura and Koharu. He was vaguely aware of hearing the door click closed behind him, since his eyes were on Tsunade who was giving him a small smile and gesturing for him to sit in one of the seats across from her desk.

He nodded his head and moved to sit in the chair. Upon sitting down, Tsunade leaned back in her chair as Homura began to speak.

"So tell me, Uzumaki-san, what did you think of the test?"

Naruto looked over at Homura and shrugged ever so slightly. "I liked that they weren't actually those tricky questions they like to give at the Academy, and that they were all based on my opinion."

Homura nodded. "So did that mean they were easy?"

At this, Naruto shook his head negatively. "No. It still took me about eight hours to answer all the questions. My hand was absolutely killing me by the time we were done."

Tsunade's eyebrow arched up, and she leaned forward in her chair. "Did you just say 'we'?"

"Uhm... yes?" Naruto frowned a little. "You never said I couldn't ask for help with any of the questions."

"Who did you ask for help?" Koharu asked, before Tsunade could say anything else.

"Well, I didn't really ask for help. I was talking with Yamanaka Inoichi after dinner last night, and the topic of my test came up. He asked what the questions were like, and then offered to give me advice. I figured he had a lot more experience as a ninja than I did, and I was never told I couldn't get help from anyone."

"Was he the only one?" asked Tsunade.

"Ino-chan gave me a few ideas and comments when she was around, but otherwise no. She hit me on the head and told me I should listen whenever a medic nin has something to say." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, remembering when she hit him. "She hits almost as hard as Sakura-chan. I'm really going to have to start watching what I say if I want to live."

That got a chuckle out of Tsunade, and even her two advisors were sporting small grins. After the chuckling settled down, Tsunade looked toward Homura, who gave her a small nod. She turned to Koharu after, who repeated the gesture. Humming lightly to herself, the Hokage rummaged around on her desk momentarily, then pulled a few sheets of paper from under an open folder that she had on top of everything..

"Congratulations, Naruto. You're now officially a Chuunin."

With that said, Tsunade grabbed a stamp from inside one of the drawers on her desk, and pounded down on the papers she had just gathered.

Naruto was beaming and repeating "Thank you" over and over, but before it could get out of hand Tsunade told him to sit down and shut up for a few more minutes, as there was more to tell him. With that said, she asked Homura to tell the new Chuunin what he needed to know, and the Sandaime's old teammate complied.

"Before I start, I want to explain that you'll have an opportunity to ask questions later, so please keep quiet until we are done, alright?"

Even though Naruto looked like he wanted to argue with that, he slowly nodded his head in acceptance.

"Good. I'll start by telling you that since you are now a Chuunin, you may no longer take D rank missions as they are reserved for Genin's unless there is a surplus. You are, however, able to take certain C rank missions and perform them solo if you feel you are capable. As such, you are able to take B rank missions with a team, as well as the occasional A rank when needed. However, the mission you are being sent on will keep you occupied for several years, so that is rather unimportant right now."

Naruto was keeping his attention focused on Homura, and didn't notice the scroll Tsunade pulled out of the top drawer on her desk.

"Through the urgings of two of the Sannin, Tsunade and Jiraiya, the council agreed to forgo the standard tournament requirement for Chuunin promotion, and to give you the test to check for your ability to plan for missions. You performed well enough three years ago against Hyuuga Neji and the current Kazekage, so we knew you were plenty capable when it came to combat. If we take Jiraiya's word into consideration, he claims you are at least twice as capable as you were then. All that was left to test your suitability for Chuunin rank was your mental capacity, which admittedly was questionable in the past."

The young boy was fidgeting, apparently he had one or more things he wanted to talk about if the slight scowl on his face was any indication, but didn't want to break the earlier rule and kept his mouth closed.

"You answered all the questions wonderfully, though since some of these questions were based on past missions that failed during the Third War, we were all wondering how you came up with the answers."

Tsunade barked out a laugh, and continued for Homura. "That was when we figured you might have realized the point of the test, though knowing you, it's never that simple. You confirmed to us that you accepted help, even though you didn't ask for it. I never told you that you couldn't get help, because that was one of the points of the test. As your sensei, and his sensei before him liked to say, you understood what was 'underneath the underneath'."

Koharu continued after Tsunade leaned back in her chair again, scroll still in her hands. "You were willing to listen to a ninja who had more experience than you, instead of plodding ahead blindly and doing what you believed to be the best answers. That is one lesson every ninja, even the various kages, need to - or do - understand. You must always be willing to listen to others, especially if they have more experience than you. Not only will it help your decision making, but it will likely give you insights into situations that you may have never noticed before."

Tsunade nodded when Koharu finished. "Any questions yet?"

Naruto was silent for a moment before he spoke up. "What would have happened if I didn't pass this?"

"You would have had to have waited for the next Chuunin exam in Suna, and we would have sent someone else on your mission in your place until you became Chuunin." Tsunade stared right at Naruto and spoke in a serious tone. Naruto was about to crack a joke, but given the expressions of the Hokage and her two advisors after she said that, he figured it wasn't a good idea.

"So now I have to run this other test to see if I can get Jounin rank?"

Homura raised his hand to stall any further conversation from the others in the room. "Not exactly. The council agreed that if you passed the Chuunin test, you would be allowed to run the old Gauntlet for consideration for promotion to Tokubetsu Jounin. While a Chuunin would be perfectly capable of running the mission you will be doing, it would be better if you were of at least Special Jounin rank for both clout and diplomatic reasons."

"Now, if you will kindly excuse Koharu and I, we have to inform the members of the council, and the Hokage needs to talk to you before her next appointment."

Tsunade nodded, and the two of them left. Once the door closed behind them, Tsunade leaned back in her chair once again and let out a heavy sigh. "You're awfully quiet."

Naruto shrugged. "I didn't get much sleep last night because of that test, and I'm trying my best to give this maturity thing a shot."

Tsunade gave and unladylike snort. "A mature Naruto is something I'd pay to see."

"How much?"

"Pardon?"

"How much would you pay to see me act mature? We can turn it into a mission..."

Tsunade growled. "Keep it up and I'll be introducing your head to the clock on my desk once again."

Naruto just laughed and scratched the back of his head, giving Tsunade a big smile. The Hokage couldn't stay upset with him either, but took a deep breath and looked at the scroll in her hands.

"Naruto."

Naruto stopped his laughing and lost the smile, wondering what could make Tsunade act so serious once again.

"What I'm about to give you now you weren't supposed to get until you turned eighteen, or made the rank of full Jounin. But due to various circumstances, the timetable for delivery has to be pushed up. You may have figured out what's in this scroll already, so this may just be confirmation for you. I also hope you'll understand when I tell you that those who knew of this wanted to tell you, at least the people I'm aware of who knew. I think this scroll should explain why we couldn't."

Tsunade handed the scroll over to Naruto, who handled it like it was something easily breakable. He gave the Hokage a pensive glance, almost as if asking for silent permission to open it. She just nodded.

"Go on. Open it."

Naruto was surprised that there was no seal keeping the scroll closed, but instead a single piece of thick string. He untied the string and slowly unraveled the scroll, his heart beating faster and faster, especially after reading the first words.

* * *

_To my son, Naruto,_

_By the time you read this, if Sandaime-sama heeds my wishes, you should either be eighteen years of age, or be a fully ranked Jounin. If you are Jounin, then allow me to extend to you a most hearty congratulations. If you are eighteen and not a Jounin, or not even a shinobi, then I hope you have lived a healthy life the past eighteen years and continue to do so._

_As I'm writing this, I'm watching you and your mother sleeping in the hospital. It's a peaceful moment, and I wish it could last forever, but it can't. I just learned a few hours ago that the Kyuubi is going on a rampage through Fire Country, and headed this way. I have maybe an hour - two at most - before I have to go out and beat the unbeatable. We can already feel its overwhelming malicious chakra from here, and it's still miles away._

_As much as it pains me, I know what needs to be done. I don't know if you'll be able to understand what I'm going to write to you now, but should you one day figure it out, this will explain how I managed to do what I did. I found a way to modify an old spirit seal to combine it with a containment seal. However, I had to give the containment seal a few holes so that the demon's chakra will be able to leak through. Your chakra coils are not fully formed yet, and won't be until you are almost two years old. This will allow the demons chakra to merge with your own, and as you get older it will act as a chakra battery within you. Theoretically, if you continuously use D or C rank jutsus, you'll never, ever run out of chakra. Jutsus which are B ranked and greater will drain you eventually, but it will still take a long time. If your forte is S-rank jutsus, then that definitely means you're my son! They had better be good though, worthy of the Namikaze and Uzumaki names!_

_Unfortunately, in order for you to become this 'chakra battery', I have to seal the demon inside you. I will also have to make a deal with a spirit, and when spirits are involved sacrifices are needed. This procedure could very well end up costing me my life. I am eternally sorry, but there was no other way. I just know Konoha will be wiped out if I don't. Having to seal a demon inside you sounds appalling, and I don't want to do it, but I can think of no other way. Unfortunately, just the fact that you're having a demon sealed in you isn't where the bad news ends, either. At a certain point in your life, until you and the Kyuubi merge, your chakra coils will become dependent on the Kyuubi's chakra, as it will be a natural part of you. So no matter what, always stay safe. Should anyone ever try to remove the Kyuubi from you before you are merged, get away. You will die without its chakra running through your coils._

_Assuming I've calculated the seals correctly, by the time you are around twenty years old, the Kyuubi's chakra should be completely merged with your own, turning you into the type of chakra machine many shinobi can only dream of being. If you do hate me for what I did, I hope you can at least understand and appreciate the gift that will come tomorrow from the curse I'm putting on your shoulders today._

_Your mother is waking up, so I need to stop writing this. I haven't told her about what I'm going to do yet. I don't know if I have enough courage to._

_I hope you live a full, happy life, Naruto. If I'm lucky, maybe someday you can find it within yourself to forgive me for what I had to do. There is another experimental piece to the seal that I don't have the time to get into, but if it works... maybe I can see you someday._

_Love Always,_

_Namikaze Minato_

_Yondaime Hokage_

_Konohakagure no Sato_

_

* * *

_

Naruto read over the entire thing one more time, just to make sure he didn't miss anything. When he was done, he slowly set the unfurled scroll on his lap and let his head hang down while he absorbed everything he read. Apparently he was quiet for a while, because a sniffling Tsunade shattered the silence.

"N-Naruto? How are you feeling?"

Naruto raised his head to look at the current Hokage. Apparently she was having a harder time controlling her emotions than he was, because she had visible tears running down her cheeks. She must have read the scroll already, not to mention she probably knew his father at some point. He gave her a sad smile, then looked back down at the scroll in his lap once more.

"Relieved, more than anything else. I think a part of me always knew, deep down, that the Yondaime was my father. When you look at the day the Kyuubi attacked, my birthday, and that I look just like a young Yondaime with shorter hair... it's pretty hard to deny. I think most people in the village are thinking the same thing now too, even if they aren't willing to come out and say it."

Naruto rubbed the corner of his eye because it was starting to itch, and noticed as his finger came away wet. His eyes were misting over a bit, but so far he managed to keep himself from crying. There would be time for that later.

"So did the scroll say anything other than about your heritage?"

"Not really. Just some information about the containment seal on my stomach. Some of the words are hard to read... they've been smudged. I think my dad was crying when he wrote this..."

Naruto's words drifted off as he dragged his fingers over the smudge marks. He had to clench his jaw together tightly in an effort to keep his own tears from coming back full force. His fingers hovered over the last sentence his father wrote about possibly seeing him someday before the urge to wipe his eyes became overwhelming.

After a few moments of sniffling and furious eye rubbing, Naruto managed to calm himself down enough to talk again. He was grateful that Tsunade was remaining silent, and letting him come to grips with this new information without pitying him.

"Baa-chan... do you know... anything about my mother? Dad didn't write anything about her, other than she was holding me while he was writing this."

Tsunade sighed and turned to look out the window as she answered. "Your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina. She was my student off and on for a few months before the Kyuubi attack."

Naruto looked shocked, and his voice rose accordingly. "My mom was your apprentice?!"

The Hokage waved her hand dismissively. "No no. Your mother was already at jounin level before we ever met, though I don't remember if she held the rank or not at the time. You get a lot of your personality and combat instincts from her. She excelled at ninjutsu like you do, however she was also incredibly strong in genjutsu and weak in taijutsu, whereas you are the opposite."

Tsunade turned and looked at Naruto once again. "Your mother had chakra control that rivals Sakura's, and even my own. I offered to teach her some medical jutsu, and she accepted. I had just taken Shizune on as an apprentice not long before that, so I taught them side by side on occasion. Your mother was a natural."

"But then, the Kyuubi arrived." Tsunade moved a hand to her desk, and began absentmindedly drawing circles with her finger. "No one knows what happened to her. There are hundreds and hundreds of people we haven't located since the Kyuubi attack, and we'll probably never find them either. The only unusual thing is that her apartment was cleaned out when they later went to investigate. Then as you already know, I didn't stick around much longer after the attack. I was tired of losing friends and loved ones."

"As were we all, I'm sure, Tsunade-hime."

Tsunade's eyes went wide for a split second as they shifted toward the back of the room. Barely another second after that, she smiled. "Shibasaki-dono, right on time. Keeping your shinobi skills in top form as well, it seems."

An elderly man with a head full of wiry gray hair and a neatly trimmed beard merely grinned and shrugged as he walked forward towards the Hokage's desk, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "They may keep me alive some day. No need to humor an old man like me though, I know you sensed my presence."

Tsunade nodded as she chuckled a little, then gestured to a seat next to Naruto. While the two were conversing, the newly promoted Chuunin had since stood up and bowed slightly as the man approached the chair. When he straightened up, he placed his hands behind his head and gave the man a big grin.

"Shibasaki-jiisan! Good to see you!"

"Naruto! I can understand talking to me with no respect... but Shibasaki Kiyoshi-dono, the Fire Lord..." Tsunade looked slightly fearful for the boy, until the daimyo of Fire Country let out a large laugh and clapped Naruto on the back.

"It's quite alright Tsunade-hime. Naruto! How have you been my boy? It's been almost what, three or four months since the last time I saw you? Finally gave up on chasing Tora?"

Naruto suddenly paled and crossed his arms in front of his chest, muttering while still sniffling lightly. The daimyo started laughing again as he sat down in his chair, Naruto and Tsunade following suit shortly after.

Tsunade looked between the two of them, looking unsure. Finally she decided to appease her own curiosity. "So how are you two so well acquainted?"

Naruto straightened up and started smiling again, but the Fire Lord must have known what the Hokage was going to ask, since he started explaining as soon as she finished asking the question.

"The little gaki and his team seemed to always get stuck with the mission to retrieve my wife's cat, Tora. After several successful missions, I tried to convince his team to not bring back that blasted cat and let it stay lost on purpose. My wife has wasted so much money on missions to retrieve that damn pet of hers."

The old man sighed while Naruto snickered, then took over the story.

"Like Shibasaki-jiisan says, he tried to get my team to make sure Tora remained lost... permanently. I told him that even though I don't like the cat, it's against my nindo to not see a mission through all the way. Even if it was a crummy D rank."

The Fire Lord nodded. "I couldn't help but admire the dedication in one as young as he was. He started calling me jiisan after that, and I found that I didn't mind. After being daimyo for over sixty years now, it's nice to not have to rely on formality from time to time. By the way Naruto, Natsumi and Shuugo say hello."

Naruto brightened up and smiled again. "How are they?"

"They are fine. Shuugo has been working on his sword and naginata skills, he's determined on being a samurai. Natsumi is driving her father crazy, because she keeps turning away all her suitors. She tells him repeatedly, and I quote, "Naruto-kun is the only one for me.".

Naruto turned as red as a tomato, which looked odd because his eyes were still a bit red and puffy. Tsunade was leaning over her desk with her eyebrows raised and a sly grin. "So Naruto has left a lasting impression within your house?"

The daimyo barked out another laugh and nodded. "During a C rank mission to escort my granddaughter to River Country for a potential marriage arrangement about three years ago, they were attacked by bandits, which was no big surprise. Our intelligence operatives had received a tip and warned us, hence why we hired shinobi to protect her. The two teams I hired from Konoha, one of which was Naruto's, managed to keep the bandits away from my granddaughter for quite a while. However, one of them had ninja training because he managed to get Natsumi and take her away while the rest of his bandit friends kept the teams busy. Naruto managed to track the ninja down with that move where he makes a lot of copies of himself, and saved her. Ever since, she gets stars in her eyes when she sees this gaki."

Naruto was still blushing, while Tsunade was giving him an appraising look, one eyebrow arched upward.

"He visited with his pervert of a sensei several times while they were in the capital city on that training trip Naruto loves to prattle on about. She kept trying to sneak up on the boy and give him a kiss, but I don't think she's succeeded yet, has she?"

Naruto was very slowly shaking his head negatively.

The daimyo grunted. "Good. She's driving my son crazy. Serves him right... he plans on taking over for me when I hand over my title to him, but he's just a lazy bum. Though I have to admit, my granddaughter isn't much better. Almost seventeen and barely acts like she's a day over thirteen sometimes."

Tsunade chuckled lightly, then spoke up as she started moving papers on her desk. "As interesting as this line of conversation is, should we perhaps start moving onto discussion about Naruto's mission?"

Immediately a more somber mood settled on the room. The Fire Lord straightened up, while Naruto's blush began to subside and he started leaning forward, listening in earnest.

Tsunade cleared her throat before speaking, and started by addressing the daimyo. "As you have been notified before you arrived, Shibasaki-dono, Naruto passed the Chuunin candidacy exam with flying colors, as was our agreed requirement for him to be able to lead this operation. The council of Konoha and myself have taken it upon ourselves to offer him the position of Tokubetsu Jounin should he pass the Gauntlet test later this evening. Is this acceptable to you?"

"A question first, why does he need that rank?"

"We argued about it amongst ourselves, but we feel that most ninja would more favorably follow someone who was of Jounin-equivalent level, and it lends a bit more credibility to the mission. Especially where diplomacy is concerned."

The Fire Lord nodded, but was frowning. "I feel it is a bit trivial, but if you see wisdom in it, I will not question it."

Tsunade nodded, and pulled out a folder from her desk. She opened it and started rifling through the papers inside it. Upon finding what the was looking for, she handed the paper to Naruto.

"That is a summary of your assignment. You will be in charge of building a fort from start to finish in the northeastern part of the Fire Country, near the border of Swamp Country where you and your team just got back from patrolling. After the base is built, you will be in charge of all of its daily operations. Shikamaru will be building another base on the western border, near Rain Country. Shibasaki-dono felt he could explain the reasons behind the fort you are going to build, so I'll leave that up to him."

Tsunade nodded at the Fire Lord, and he nodded back, then turned to look at Naruto. "The main purpose of building the fort is as a deterrent. Things are rather volatile in our part of the world right now, the five large countries are somewhat in decline, and several of the smaller countries are doing their best to make grabs for power. However, one of the large five countries, Lightning, has a daimyo that is just as power hungry as Orochimaru ever was."

Naruto visibly stiffened at the mention of the Sannin's name and clutched the arms of the chair he was sitting in, causing his knuckles to go white. "One Orochimaru is enough, and even that is still too many." He spoke barely above a whisper, but it was enough for the Fire Lord to nod in agreement.

"Yes, I think we can all agree with that assessment. The sooner he dies, the better off the world will be. I only hope your rogue teammate comes to his senses and doesn't allow Orochimaru to use his body." Naruto stiffened again at the passing mention of his teammate, though Tsunade noted with no small amount of pride that Naruto managed to keep his mouth shut this time. "The man is still one of the Sannin, however, so I doubt will be able to rid ourselves of him anytime soon."

Kiyoshi slowly stood up and walked over to the nearest window, clasping his hands behind his back. "Orochimaru and the new Lightning Daimyo will most likely bonk heads sooner or later. The current Daimyo of Lightning Country recently came to power because the previous one died. Many believe he was assassinated, but as usual, there is no proof. He was too timid, and had too many enemies. The current Daimyo now was one of his enemies, and is an extremely aggressive man. Fortunately for us, the Raikage is not so hotheaded. He has been trying to remain cautiously neutral, especially considering they lost one of their Jinchuuriki recently."

Naruto shot to his feet and started waving his arms about frantically. "_What!?_ They had a Jinchuuriki? Baa-chan, why didn't..."

_"__Quiet!"_ Tsunade lifted her hand and gestured for Naruto to sit down and shut up. When he managed to compose himself and sat back down, Tsunade took a deep breath. "We didn't find out they had a Jinchuuriki until it was already too late. The Raikage sent a message through one of Jiraiya's publicly known contacts, but by the time he received it and replied, there was nothing anyone could do. Lightning's Raikage is a very intelligent man, and he didn't want to come to Konoha directly for aid. Too many of their council would have been against it, since they have always tried to remain somewhat neutral. So he tried to get our assistance through other means... unfortunately, that took too long."

Naruto's head was hanging, and neither the Hokage nor the Fire Lord could figure out what was going through his head at that moment. Kiyoshi broke the silence. "Naruto, while I understand your desire to help a fellow Jinchuuriki, as you may consider them to be kindred spirits, you must understand that they may not want to be your friend. As much as it pains me to say it, in some countries, brainwashing is not an uncommon practice in order to keep powerful beings under control. I know your friend the Kazekage was not brainwashed, however it wasn't exactly easy to get through to him either, was it?"

Naruto slowly shook his head. "No, it wasn't." He sighed, then leaned back in his chair. Since he didn't say anything more, Kiyoshi continued.

"The new Lightning Daimyo is power hungry, and the Raikage doesn't think he'll be able to contain the man's lust for power for very long. No country with a hidden village would willingly hold back their shinobi if a Daimyo wants them used, for fear of a civil war. The Hidden Cloud Village does not want to assist the new Daimyo, and they can delay any course of action that would provoke war, but it's doubtful they could hold out for very long under pressure. We know the Lightning Daimyo will make a move with his samurai armies, but they will only be able to do so much. He'll draw on the shinobi sooner or later."

The Fire Daimyo settled back down in his chair, and Tsunade stood and started pacing slowly, taking over the speech. "The Raikage sent a message to us, and to Earth Country, as we are nearest Lightning. He feels the Daimyo will strike out against Valley Country first, since they are the only country that borders Lightning to their southwest. After that, it's a free march into Swamp Country, and from there they are on our front door, as well as Rice Field Country. Orochimaru may delay the man somewhat, but we don't know what the overall leadership in the Sound Village is like. All attempts of communication with Rice Field Country have been turned away, so we stopped trying – and we aren't even going to bother trying to talk to Orochimaru. I think it goes without saying that the man is such a wildcard that we have no way of knowing what he plans to do, for all we know he could be manipulating the Lightning Daimyo. As for the other two affected lands - Valley Country isn't very big and has no hidden village, so it won't be able to put up much of a resistance. Swamp Country has no leadership at all, it's just a few small coalitions of villages."

Tsunade stopped pacing at the front of her desk and settled back against it, folding her arms across her chest. "I have no idea what the Hidden Rock Village is going to say or do. As far as I know, both the Tsuchikage and the Earth Daimyo positions have not had any new blood since the Third Shinobi War, so I doubt they'll help us in any way. This is why we're going to be building two new large forts. One to the west, near the Rain and Grass borders, and one up north near Swamp, where the old Whirlpool Country used to be. There is no timetable, because we don't know when the Lightning Daimyo will act. Therefore we need everything done as soon as possible. Any questions?"

Naruto's face scrunched up in thought for a moment before he spoke. "Are we going to get help from any other nearby countries? Wind, Grass, Water, River, Wave or Waterfall?"

The Hokage and Fire Lord shared a look for a moment before the latter nodded. Tsunade turned back to face Naruto. "We've sent messages to Water, but haven't heard anything. No surprise, as that country has been a black hole with information of any kind for years. I'm sure Gaara will send help, though we haven't formally asked. We haven't considered Wave, since they are so small, but since you'll be closer I'll leave that up to you if you feel they could offer any assistance. There haven't been any talks with Waterfall, River, or Grass yet. What would you suggest?"

Naruto looked surprised for a moment. "Wha-What would I..." His face went through a myriad of expressions, before a particularly serious look took hold. After a few seconds of silence, he started scratching his chin while he talked.

"Well... I'd tell them to watch Earth Country while we're concentrating on Lightning Country, in case they try any funny business. At least until we hear something from Earth anyway. If Earth is against us, we'll need their help, if Earth decides to join us, we probably won't need them. If they stay neutral... then we probably won't need any help from them unless the situation gets really bad somehow."

There were a few seconds of silence as the two leaders digested Naruto's words. The Fire Daimyo was the first to reply, "Sounds good to me."

Tsunade nodded. "Me too. Alright Naruto, I need you to tell Shizune to prep messages to Wind, Waterfall, and Grass. Since it was your idea, you give her the details. Don't tell them too much, try to keep it brief, but detailed enough so they know they need to be alert."

Tsunade started walking around to the other side of her desk. "I'll have one of my ANBU come tell you when to report in so you can run the Gauntlet, so make sure you've got your proper gear ready to go at a moments notice. I've got to go over a few things with the Shibasaki-dono in private before I give you the final details on your mission prior to you heading out. In the meantime, I'm sure Ino is just dying to gossip about her new _little brothers _promotion."

Naruto gave Tsunade a sour face at first because of the way she placed emphasis on him being the younger of the two teenagers, but then quickly changed it to a grin and laughed lightly as he stood. "Word certainly travels fast. Yeah, I'm sure she is. I'd better go tell the Yamanakas before Ino-chan hunts me down and sends me to the hospital." The boy appeared slightly exasperated, but happy nonetheless. He turned and waved over his shoulder as he headed for the door. "See you, baa-chan. Shibasaki-jiisan."

"See you later, Naruto-kun."

"I'll be waiting at the Gauntlet later, brat."

After the door clicked closed behind Naruto, Kiyoshi spoke up. "Judging by the way his face looked when I arrived, you told him about his heritage?"

Tsunade nodded and sighed. "He took it a lot better than I was expecting. I think he already knew, deep down, about his father. There were just too many obvious signs. His mother on the other hand... is still a relative unknown factor, for all of us."

Kiyoshi nodded. "From my limited contact of the Uzumaki's, before Whirlpool became a part of Fire, they were great people. Unfortunately, because contact with a pureblood Uzumaki was so rare, I can't say I remember any. They were a very secretive clan."

"Very powerful too, before they were almost completely wiped out, and the survivors disappeared."

Both the Hokage and Fire Lord were quiet for several long moments, before Kiyoshi eventually sighed. "As much as I like to reminisce sometimes, I think it's time to get down to business."

Tsunade nodded, and watched as the daimyo of Fire Country pulled a thick scroll from his robes. He unsealed the scroll, and started opening it on top of Tsunade's desk.

"Now once Naruto has the outpost up and running, here's the thoughts of my council for the plans for the new town..."

* * *

**Edited:** October 31st, 2009

Up Next: Fangirls


	7. Fangirls

Chapter 7

"I'm home!"

"Oh, welcome back Naruto!" Yamanaka Sumi was standing at the counter of the well-known Yamanaka Flower Shop, arranging a set of flowers that were most likely someone's order. "I'm going to start making lunch so maybe you should take a nap. I know you were up late last night so you probably need it, so I'll just have Ino get you up when it's ready." The woman gave Naruto a gentle smile as she looked at him over her shoulder.

"You're right. I think I'll do that, Yamanaka-san."

Sumi chuckled a little. "Naruto... just so you know, I don't mind if you want to start calling me Sumi. If you don't want to that's fine, but I won't mind if you do."

Naruto felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth, considering it. He had nicknames for most of the adults he was close to, it was his way of letting them know that they were trusted. Yamanaka Sumi fit into that category for him, but he didn't know if he could feel comfortable just using her name. At least, not yet.

"I'll consider it... Sumi-san."

Sumi gave him a big smile and a wink. "It's progress, I'll take what I can get!" Gesturing with her hands for him to go and get some rest, she silently ushered him towards the back of the store where the entrance to their living area was located. Naruto readily obliged without complaint, gradually making his way up the stairs then slowly dragging his feet down the hallway towards his new room. Just as he opened the door to enter, the door across the hall opened to reveal his newly adopted 'big' sister.

"Naruto! Hey, how did it go?"

Naruto just grinned at her, then turned and entered his room. He spoke to Ino over his shoulder.

"I'd have to say that it went about how I expected."

He went over to his bed and flopped down on it, then stretched. He looked around the room instead of saying anything else, examining the few items that kept the room from being totally barren. It was totally empty just yesterday, but a few Kage Bunshin helped him to apply a nice light blue coat of paint and hang a few pictures. Of course several plants throughout the room also helped to liven it up, adding a certain degree of comfort to the room. He didn't know for how long or how often he'd be in this room, but both Inoichi and Sumi had insisted that he use it since they weren't. The sound of a throat clearing made him realize that Ino had not spoken as he was gazing about the room, so he propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her.

She was standing in the doorway, arms crossed, with a rather pensive look on her face.

"Well, aren't you going to elaborate, or do I have to get Sakura over here to beat it out of you?"

Naruto didn't know whether to chuckle or snort, so he just gave her an answer instead. "Well, baa-chan and her two advisors had me enter the room and then they started drilling me with all sorts of questions. They wanted to know how I answered a lot of them so... 'spectacularly', as they put it - and they pretty much confirmed to me that they knew I had help."

Naruto was trying to keep a straight face while relaying the story to Ino, but it was getting harder as she was creeping over to the bed to slowly sit on the end of it. Her face was gradually going from chagrin, to fear, and finally settling on sadness.

"Naruto..."

"So anyway, after a bit of haggling and some nail-biting, they decided to make me a chuunin after all."

It took a moment for what he said to register, but once it did, Ino's face turned bright red and she started to stutter.

"Wha... why... you... Naruto...!" Apparently Ino wasn't quite sure how to express her frustration with words, so instead settled for letting out a noise that was a cross between a high pitched scream and a guttural growl. "You were sounding like you didn't get it!"

If looks could kill, Naruto would have been dead several times over by now. But for some reason he just gave her a big grin and started chuckling. It must have been contagious because Ino found that she couldn't keep the angry face on for long, and soon fell into light laughter herself.

Ino shook her head and sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" She leaned over and gave Naruto a quick peck on the cheek, then jumped up and started heading for the door.

"Congratulations on becoming a chuunin! Get some rest while I go help kaa-san with lunch." She gave him a little wave then disappeared down the hall.

Naruto shifted on the bed a little and found a comfortable spot. While he was happy about getting his promotion, it had ended up being rather bittersweet. After many years of wondering, he was finally able to confirm that the Yondaime was in fact his father. He couldn't help but think of how ridiculous it was that they kept the information from him. He even looked like an exact copy of the Yondaime, the only really visible difference was that the deceased Hokage's face chiseled and narrow, whereas Naruto's was a little more rounded. He could only assume that he did pick up a few features from his mother, but she was still a glaring hole in his life. All he knew was her name, and that she had worked as a part time apprentice of sorts to the current Hokage.

Thoughts shifting back to his father, Naruto didn't know what to think. When he first got confirmation, he was definitely relieved. It meant he didn't have to wonder anymore. It also brought him peace of mind, because he knew who his parents were, finally.

However, once he left the meeting with the current Hokage and the Fire Lord, the bitterness started to grow. With that, the anger started rearing its head. Not just towards his parents, but also towards the people who knew or probably knew, but decided not to tell him.

Tsunade.

Jiraiya.

The Sandaime... Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Kakashi was a wild card, since the Yondaime was his sensei, he probably knew. Luckily, Naruto knew Kakashi like a book, how his index finger twitched every time he told a lie, or how he'd try to pull out that little perverted book of his when he got embarrassed about something in a conversation and didn't want to continue talking. He'd be able to figure out if the man was lying or not when he next saw him and was able to question him directly.

Naruto was planning to go on a private mission to find out who knew, and give them a piece of his mind.

But then as he started getting closer to the Yamanaka's house... his new sometimes-home... the anger soon faded, and he was left with a distinct sense of loss. Sadness. It was so profound, he found that he couldn't really even cry, it just left a bad taste in his mouth. Lethargy set in, and he felt every heartbeat pounding against his ribcage.

Despite the feeling of loss, it didn't last long as he soon realized something important:

It didn't really matter.

He had closure on one of the earliest chapters of his life... finding where he came from. Now that he knew, he was feeling remarkably... indifferent. Naruto still planned on giving several people a piece of his mind, but he wasn't going to actively hunt them down to give them hell now. He'd be cross with them when he saw them next, but other than that, it would be rather pointless to be upset about it now.

"Well, I hear congratulations are in order?"

Being pulled from his musings, Naruto rolled over on the bed to get a look at the person who spoke.

Yamanaka Inoichi was leaning against the door, a small grin on his face and a small box in his hand.

"Heh, yeah. Thanks for the help. If it wasn't for your advice, I probably wouldn't have passed."

Inoichi chuckled as he stepped into the room. "Oh, I don't know about that. You probably would have, but they most likely would have grilled you on the answers on your test for several hours. While we were talking, you came up with pretty much all the ideas, remember? I just advised you on how to apply them, and what probably would or wouldn't work based on my past experiences."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Naruto chuckled and grinned at the older man.

"So just how badly did they end up grilling you?"

Naruto slowly sat up on the bed, his legs dangling over the side. He gave a small shrug after steadying himself. "I didn't think it was that bad at all, actually. Baa-chan went easy on me, it was those two advisors of hers that really wanted to make sure I could handle the new rank."

"Homura and Koharu?"

"I think that's their names. I never really paid much attention before."

"Well, you're going to have to change that, especially if you want to be Hokage. There's a lot more that goes into that position other than being strong physically."

Naruto nodded solemnly, but other than that, he didn't respond.

Inoichi moved to the side of the bed, and sat down next to Naruto.

"Anything else of interest happen while you were there? Any new information about this mission you're going on?"

"Well..." Naruto sighed and scratched idly at his chin. "I did talk to Baa-chan and Shigui-jiji about the mission a little bit."

"The Fire Lord is here?!" Inoichi sounded completely surprised. It most likely was not common knowledge that the Fire Daimyo was currently in the village.

Naruto nodded. "He talked to me a little bit about why I'm going on this extended mission. I'm sorry I can't really tell you anything about it right now."

Inoichi just chuckled. "It's quite alright. I understand. I've been a ninja a long time, you know."

Naruto nodded and gave him a brief grin, but then his expression quickly changed into a more downcast one. "I also found out who my parents are."

Inoichi visibly stiffened for a moment, whether in shock or apprehension, Naruto wasn't sure. It took a few seconds for the elder shinobi to speak. "Did... I know them?"

Naruto leaned forward, his forearms resting idly on his thighs. He stared at the floor for what seemed like an eternity before saying anything.

"Apparently, everyone in Konoha, and across the Five Great Elemental Countries know who my father is. My mother though, no one knows. Or if they do, they still aren't telling me."

Naruto's hands were constantly clenching and releasing from being a fist. Inoichi could easily tell that the young man was irritated, and he had a rather good understanding as to why.

"So, you are the son of the Fourth after all, huh."

Naruto's head snapped around to look at the man. His eyes showed hurt, anger, but most of all what looked to be irritation. "You knew too?!"

Inoichi shook his head. "No. I had my own guess, as I'm sure most of the village has their own by now too, whether they are willing to admit it or not. Judging by your reactions I've seen so far, and how you seem to be rather rational about all this, you had your own guess as well."

Naruto's eyes clouded over a bit, and he seemed to deflate somewhat. "Yeah, when I was younger I liked to pretend that we were related, just because I thought that if I was related to a great ninja, people would respect me. Sarutobi-jiji never really tried to stop me from doing that, but he didn't seem to be interested in telling me who my parents were either. He did tell me though that it's better to make a name for myself and be respected for my own deeds, rather than climb up in another's shadow."

Naruto paused for a moment, and looked up at the ceiling. "Funny; what he said makes even more sense now. But it was shortly after that when I was getting ready to enter the Academy for the first time, when I finally made the decision that the only way I could be recognized would be if I became Hokage."

"Which is a very noble… though difficult, goal indeed." Inoichi smiled at his young charge, then shifted a bit and handed Naruto the small box he had been holding onto. "With the discovery of your parentage, it seems even more appropriate to give this to you now. I was going to give it to you for another reason, but now it appears to serve a more important purpose."

Naruto gazed curiously at the small box, holding it carefully, not sure if it contained anything fragile. Inoichi noticed how carefully he was holding the package, and chuckled.

"It's alright, it's nothing fragile, believe me. It's probably been used in fights before it arrived in my hands. I haven't touched it in years, but it's a rather symbolic item."

Naruto's curiosity got the better of him, and he quickly untied the string holding the sides of the box closed. He looked inside when it was open, and the look on his face became one of pure puzzlement. Reaching into the box carefully, he pulled out an oddly shaped kunai. It was a little longer than a standard issue kunai, however it had two shorter prongs sticking out from each side of the main blade. It was certainly a unique design.

Naruto examined every inch of the weapon, rolling it over in his hands. Other than the unique blade and extended handle, the only other thing that stood out was an old piece of parchment wrapped around the handle, with some symbols on it that appeared to be a seal of some sort.

"I've never seen a kunai like this before."

Now it was Inoichi's turn to look puzzled. "I thought they had pictures of these in the history texts you study at the Academy?"

Naruto gave a dry laugh. "If they did, it must have been under genjutsu. None of my books ever had pictures."

Needless to say, Inoichi was dumbfounded. He had helped Ino with her work plenty of times, and knew that all of his daughters' books had pictures in them to give examples. He let out a sigh while scratching his cheek in consternation. "I can't believe..."

Naruto raised a hand, effectively silencing the rant Inoichi was about to embark upon.

"It's alright. I'm over the Academy. There's no point in talking about it now."

Inoichi frowned, but nodded and kept his mouth shut on that topic nonetheless. "Well, that kunai is a special one that was used by the Yondaime when he performed his famous Thunder God Technique."

Naruto looked up, eyes wide. "This?" He gestured at the three pronged kunai. "_This_ let him perform the Hiraishin?!"

Inoichi frowned slightly, and started scratching his cheek again. Naruto noticed the man did that whenever he was thinking hard about something.

"I don't know the particulars about it, but he gave it to me shortly after he became Hokage. He gave one to all of the jounin sensei's at the time, explaining that if we threw the kunai, once it reached a certain velocity the seal on it would activate and he'd be able to teleport to it instantly, but to only use it in extreme emergencies. The Third War had just ended, and we needed as many new recruits as we could get. However, he couldn't be everywhere at once, hence telling us only to use it when it was absolutely necessary. I never had to use mine."

Naruto was looking at the kunai intently again, and he barely heard Inoichi let out a tired sigh. "I tried throwing it after he died... you know... just to see if maybe..."

Inoichi trailed off, not finishing the sentence, but Naruto knew where it was headed anyway. He gripped the kunai a little tighter in his hands, as he was thinking of doing the same thing just to see. He berated himself mentally for acting like a child, many people who may have received one of the Yondaime's kunai have probably already tried the same thing he was thinking about trying just seconds ago. If he hadn't shown up so far, it was unlikely one more throw would cause him to magically appear.

"How come no one else has reproduced this kunai style, or uses it in battle?"

Inoichi gave Naruto a small smile. "It's not really practical to use it, that's all."

Naruto mostly understood, but he was still a little confused. Why wouldn't people want to emulate a hero, and use the same kind of weapons their hero did? Or even as a sign of respect?

"I can tell you're still confused." Inoichi chuckled at Naruto's baffled expression. "The kunai isn't really practical for combat. A standard kunai is a single blade, and thrown at a high enough velocity, can dig itself pretty deep into a target."

Naruto nodded, waiting for the veteran jounin to continue.

"The Yondaime's three pronged kunai isn't suited for combat, even he had standard kunai with him all the time. With the three prong kunai, the middle part of it would start to penetrate the target, but then the two prongs on the side would add more surface area, therefore limiting the amount of penetration of the main blade. To simplify it, the two prongs on the side of the main part of the kunai would block it from digging too deep into the target. I'm sure with enough force, it wouldn't matter... but why bother when a standard kunai works just fine and does the same thing?"

Naruto was starting to get lost, but when Inoichi simplified it a bit, he got right back on track and continued listening attentively.

"Keep in mind that he made Hiraishin to be used during the Third War. In a battle with a lot of shinobi, or even samurai, there is so much going on that you don't really have time to concentrate on your throws. To remedy that, the three prongs on this style kunai give you two extra chances to help it stick to its target. He often gave a bunch of those to shinobi on the front lines of a battle, and just had them throw a bunch of them. The three blades gave it a better chance of getting stuck in a target if it wasn't thrown directly at it, and it also helped him to retrieve his kunai after a battle was over due to their unique shape." Inoichi made a casual gesture at the weapon in Naruto's hand. "You've probably also noticed that the handle is slightly longer than the handle on a standard kunai. That's because the seal is wrapped around the handle, the one that let him teleport to the kunai once it was launched."

Naruto was gazing at the weapon, and Inoichi sat there quietly after the brief lesson.

"Your father was a great man Naruto. You should be proud."

A torrent of emotions passed over the young jinchuuriki's face, finally settling on resignation.

"That sounds great and all, but I can't really ever say I knew him."

Inoichi frowned, patting Naruto on the shoulder as he stood up.

"Maybe someday you will find a way to know him. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you."

Naruto grinned. "Thanks. But I do have one more question."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Why were you going to give this to me, originally?"

Inoichi was silent for a moment. "It's hard to say exactly, it was more of a spur of the moment thing. I was trying to think of something to give you as congratulations for when you passed the test and were made a chuunin. From what I know of you, you aren't a very materialistic person, and anyone could get you ninja tools and gear. I wanted to get you something that was a little more unique. As I was going through my items, I found that wrapped up. I never used it and have no reason to ever use it, so I thought you'd appreciate it since you've said on more than one occasion that the Yondaime was your idol. Now that you've found out he was your father, I think it's even more appropriate that you have it."

Inoichi nodded at Naruto as he headed for the door. "Now get some shuteye, you need to rest before your next test later this evening."

Naruto just nodded and leaned back onto the bed, setting the kunai on the small nightstand nearby. He couldn't help but wonder at the likelihood of his father touching that very same weapon at some point before he gave it to Inoichi. The thought sent chills down his spine. He listened to the sound of footsteps making their way down the stairs as he drifted off to a peaceful nap, his mind much more at ease than compared to before.

* * *

"Hey Forehead! Over here!"

Sakura's eyes drifted over towards a corner of the room in the restaurant she just entered, and spied Ino's hand waving frantically to gain her attention. She gave a small wave in return to let Ino know she was on her way, then started heading to where her friend was seated.

All of the girls who graduated at the same time from the Academy got together - or tried to - at least once a month. It was mainly at Ino's request, so they could all keep in touch, but Sakura figured that Ino needed people other than herself to get gossip from and give gossip to. With the upcoming mission, all the girls had agreed to bump up the meeting about a week early.

"Ah, Sakura-san!"

Sakura stopped walking and turned toward the new voice, which she instantly recognized.

"Hey there, Yuna-san. We've been bumping into each other a lot lately, haven't we?"

Yuna smiled and nodded. "It seems that way." She held up a small package in a bag. "I got off work early today, so I decided to stop by and grab something to eat before I went home. Are you having lunch here too?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, though I'm here for our monthly meeting among the kunoichi of my graduating class."

"Sounds like fun. Well, have a good time, I don't want to keep you from your meeting."

Her coworker waved quickly and displayed a brief smile, then began to turn away, but Sakura caught Yuna's arm in a gentle grip before she could walk off. "Would you like to join us? My friend, Ino, would love to hear any gossip you may have, I'm certain."

Yuna contemplated the offer for a few seconds. "You don't think your friends will mind? I'm only a civilian, I can't imagine I know much gossip that would interest kunoichi."

Sakura gave a wry smile and spoke with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "You'd be amazed."

Yuna still looked somewhat pensive, but eventually gave a small smile and nodded. "Alright, I'll hang out for a bit."

After tossing a small grin at the other girl, Sakura turned back and headed towards the table where Ino was seated. As she approached, she could better see who was there. She took note of each person at the table, and was mildly surprised to see someone else sitting there whom she hadn't seen for almost three months.

Sakura stopped at the edge of the table, and all eyes there turned to look at her. They all gave a quick smile, then their eyes drifted to the person who was standing next to and slightly behind her.

"Hey everyone. I'd like you to meet a coworker and friend of mine from the hospital, Yuna. She's a civvie, but I figured you'd like to hear some civilian gossip, Ino-pig."

"Hell yes! Any gossip is good gossip!"

Everyone at the table laughed briefly, including Yuna. Sakura turned to Yuna and started pointing at each person at the table as she gave their names.

"I don't expect you to remember them all right away, but the first person here is Hyuuga Hinata."

Yuna's eyes went wide for a brief second, then she immediately bowed at Hinata.

"G-greetings, Hyuuga-sama."

Hinata gave a small smile. "Please, Yuna-san, call me Hinata. I'm not big on ceremony when it's not necessary. I'm just a regular person when with my friends, and now you are part of that group."

Yuna slowly straightened her back, her posture relaxing but still somewhat rigid. "Y-yes, Hinata-sama. I will try to remember that."

Hinata nodded slightly, and Sakura moved on. "Next is Tenten. She's actually from the graduating class ahead of ours, but she says she doesn't like any of the girls that graduated that year so she hangs out with us. She also doesn't like using her last name, but you might have heard of her father, Fujimoto Noburo. He's a blacksmith and they own the finest weapon store in Konoha."

Yuna smiled and gave Tenten a small bow. "I have heard of their shop, yes. My uncle is a shinobi and I've heard him speaking of shopping there. Nice to meet you."

Tenten just gave a small hello and wave as a greeting, preferring to keep a small profile, and let Sakura move on.

Before introducing the next person, Sakura had a question to ask from the moment she spotted the girl.

"I didn't know you were in town, you usually ask for me when you stop by the hospital for a checkup and health pass."

The blond haired kunoichi nodded in agreement. "I just got in today. I asked for you and they said you were off. Imagine my surprise."

Sakura just grinned at her, then turned slightly back towards Yuna. "That's Sabaku no Temari. She's the older sister of the Kazekage of Suna, Gaara."

Yuna gave yet another bow, followed by a big smile. "Wow, I've never met a kunoichi from another village before! Not to mention the sister of the Kazekage..."

Temari just snorted and waved her hand dismissively. "I'm nothing special, I try to stay out of the spotlight. All the same, it's nice meeting you."

All the girls chuckled at Temari's bluntness, while Yuna just nodded in acceptance.

Sakura cleared her throat to get them all to settle down.

"Finally, I'd like to introduce you to the largest gossip monger this side of the Great Sea, Yamanaka Ino."

Ino gave a huge smile and a little wave to Yuna. "Nice to meet you. Now sit down, I've got news!"

Sakura barked out a laugh at that, and pulled a chair over to the table the girls were sitting at, while Yuna did the same. After they got comfortable, Ino began talking loudly so all the girls at the table would listen to her.

"So... everyone's favorite knucklehead just got home after talking to the Hokage about an hour ago, and I've got news! Big news!"

Sakura just raised an eyebrow, but it was Tenten that broke the silence and asked the question that most of the others were thinking.

"What's Naruto doing at your house?"

Ino shrugged. "He's actually just become a somewhat official yet unofficial member of my family yesterday. I always wanted a sibling, he agreed since he's an orphan, and my parents were both ecstatic. We're not bothering with any paperwork so it's not official with Konoha, but it's official with us and that's all that matters." Ino spoke with a sense of finality, and crossed her arms over her chest as if to prove she wasn't going to change her opinion in any way.

"Why?" Temari asked the question this time, she wasn't arguing, but the expression on her face was one of skepticism.

"This way I can keep an eye on him and make sure no one does anything naughty to him without my permission, of course!"

Hinata almost yelped in surprise, while Temari sprayed what she was drinking across the table onto Tenten. Yuna was looking confused, which was shortly replaced by what appeared to be sudden realization. She tapped Ino on the shoulder to get her attention away from Tenten, who was growling at Temari. The Suna kunoichi was apologizing and trying to help Tenten clean up the mess. Hinata just seemed to be off in her own little world, while Sakura was giggling at Temari and Tenten.

"Uhhh... Ino-san... this Naruto... do you mean Uzumaki Naruto?"

Ino looked surprised. "Yeah, you know him?"

Yuna nodded. "Yeah, he comes to visit Sakura-san at work a lot. I think he likes her, and I'm fairly sure she has a thing for him."

Ino leaned in, a positively evil look on her face. "Ohhhhh really?" While that information came as no surprise whatsoever to the blond kunoichi, she refused to pass up an opportunity to make Sakura squirm a little in front of the others.

At this point, Sakura's attention had come back to Ino, and she knew the look on her face from past experiences. Before Yuna could reply, Sakura tried to deftly intercept any line of questioning.

"Ino-pig, be nice to Yuna. She's not used to you yet."

Ino looked at Sakura briefly, a scowl on her face. "You just don't want to know what Yuna-san has to say about you and Naruto, Forehead."

"No, no, no! How many times do I have to tell you there is nothing going on?!" Sakura was cursing herself, as she felt the blush starting to creep up from her neck to her cheeks.

At this point, Temari and Tenten had finished cleaning up, and had their attention focused back on Ino. Hinata had apparently stopped daydreaming, and was leaning in to hear about Naruto as well.

Ino just scoffed at Sakura, and turned back to Yuna. "I know she'd like us to believe there is nothing going on, but I can tell if a look has lust in it a mile away, and she shoots them at the knucklehead all the time."

Yuna started chuckling at that, while Sakura's face was quickly approaching one of horror.

"Well, I guess that's why she didn't try very hard to help me get hooked up with Naruto, then."

Several things happened at once. Ino's face just went blank, while Sakura's quickly went from rosy red to pale white. Hinata's face hit the table they were sitting at, while Tenten looked confused and Temari just snorted and went back to nibbling at her lunch.

After a moment of silence, Ino raised an eyebrow. "You wanted to date Naruto?"

Yuna just shrugged. "Well, yeah. I saw him at the hospital enough to know he seemed like a rather cute and funny guy. He was always doing something stupid to get the nurses, and even some of the doctors to laugh. Plus, every time he came to visit Sakura-san, she always seemed to be in a better mood after he left. However, she wasn't responding to any of his obvious advances, so if she didn't want him, I did."

Ino just leaned back in her chair, while Sakura had her forehead in her hands, leaning forward over the table. Hinata's face was still on the table, and Tenten and Temari had apparently started their own side conversation.

Yuna was getting uncomfortable. "Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

Ino leaned forward, pointed a finger directly at Yuna, and said, "Thank you!"

Yuna looked surprised. "Thank... me? For what?"

Now Ino shifted a finger over towards Sakura. "For pointing out the obvious and letting her know, even indirectly, that she's a flipping idiot!"

Eyes wide, Yuna looked in shock at her coworker and friend. Sakura had leaned back in her chair now, and was looking downright miserable. Not sure what to say, Yuna took one of her hands and rested it on top of Sakura's. The pink haired girl didn't acknowledge it at all.

"Uhm, Sakura-san... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you look bad in front of your friends. I was just being honest."

Sakura finally looked up at Yuna, and gave the girl a small smile. "No, it's alright. I have no one to blame but myself anyway."

Yuna's eyebrows shot up sky high. "So you do like Naruto?"

Sakura sighed and leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't make eye contact with anyone and stared at the table. Sakura started to talk, but Ino cut her off.

"Tenten, wake Hinata. I have a feeling that she would want to hear this."

Tenten nodded and started to shake Hinata. Yuna looked at her in concern. "Is she okay?"

Ino and Sakura both nodded, but it was Ino who explained the situation. "We know she likes Naruto too, it's obvious. But her denial is even more fierce than Sakura's. The only difference between them is that Naruto actively pursues, or at least used to actively pursue Sakura, but not Hinata. I don't even think he's aware that Hinata cares a lot for him. All of us here know it's more of an admiration thing than anything else, but we keep it amongst ourselves. Besides, I've been talking to one of her teammates and he's upset about her behavior..."

Ino's speech started trailing off as Hinata finally started waking back up. Once again before Sakura could start talking, Ino spoke directly to Hinata.

"Hinata."

Hinata looked startled for a moment with the forcefulness of which Ino said her name.

"Y-yes, Ino?"

"Sakura is going to talk about Naruto. Please try not to faint, or I will throw water on you to wake you back up. You really should listen to this, okay?"

Hinata looked slightly scared, and it took her a moment to regain her composure, but she eventually nodded.

After receiving the nod, Ino smiled, then turned to Sakura and nodded in her direction, her smile looking a little more sinister. The pink haired kunoichi let out a big sigh and rolled her eyes, then began to talk.

"I'll start by finally admitting that yes, I do like Naruto."

Hinata's face remained a mask, though her head tilted down slightly. Sakura's face only flushed a slight bit, Tenten and Temari were fine, but still appeared interested, while Ino now had a big smile on her face. Yuna showed no change, as if she had known all along.

Sakura took another large breath before continuing. "It took me a while to finally understand what I was feeling. At first, I was in denial, and then I was scared. Should something happen, I didn't want to have a repeat of what happened with Sasuke-kun."

At the mention of the ex-Konoha nin's name, the mood of the table obviously soured. Both Tenten and Temari had scowls on their faces, and Hinata had one of outright hatred, which didn't look appropriate on her face. Ino just grumbled and murmured a word, which Yuna thought sounded an awful lot like "Bastard.".

"Who is Sa..."

Ino quickly reached forward and gently put her hand over Yuna's mouth, blocking the question. When Yuna turned an inquiring gaze upon Ino, the girl looked at her with piercing blue eyes.

"That name is taboo around here. He was a friend many years ago, and is a traitor now, no matter what anyone says. Until the time comes where he redeems himself, if that's even possible, do not talk or ask questions about him if you can avoid it. _Please._"

Yuna nodded slowly, and Ino pulled her hand away. Yuna turned back to Sakura. "Sorry for interrupting, please continue."

Sakura nodded, but also shrugged. "There isn't really much else for me to say. After a long talk with Ino, and constantly re-examining my feelings, I can really say that I like Naruto as more than just a friend. Even though he is my best friend."

Ino frowned, which Sakura noticed and quickly amended her previous statement.

"My best friend of the male persuasion, anyway."

Ino's smile returned. Sakura took another deep breath and continued.

"However, I'm afraid of talking to him about it... I... I don't want to take the chance of ruining the friendship we have now by asking for more."

A snort came from Temari's direction. "I've seen the way that goof fawns all over you. It's endearing, in a fashion. If he had a little more maturity, I'd have tried to steal him from you by now. He's definitely a looker."

Hinata finally started blushing in earnest, looking at Temari like she had never seen the girl before.

Sakura spoke up again, in response to Temari. "I want to talk to him about it, but part of me is worried. He used to ask me out all the time, but..." Sakura's voice drifted off, and everyone at the table other than Ino was leaning in to listen. When Sakura didn't continue, it was surprisingly Tenten who prodded her to keep going.

"Well? Don't leave us hanging like that!"

Sakura just shook her head and frowned, it looked like she was thinking hard, as if reviewing memories.

Ino looked at how hard her friend was concentrating, and decided to take a guess as to why Sakura suddenly became quiet.

"I think she's unsure because Naruto-kun hasn't asked her out on a date in several months."

To the surprise at everyone at the table, it was Hinata who asked the inevitable question.

"How come?"

Ino answered before Sakura could say anything. "That may be partly my fault. While we never officially dated, we were hanging out together a lot since we shared several common interests. The time we spent together led up to our family pseudo-adopting him."

"Though you did tell me that he avoided any conversation when I was the topic."

Ino just nodded at her pink haired friend. "Like I said, I just chalked it up to him respecting you too much as a good friend to gossip about you."

Temari chuckled, Tenten whistled, and Hinata once again stunned her fellow kunoichi by speaking up.

"I t-think, Sakura, that you should t-talk to Naruto-kun. Even if he doesn't want to become m-more than friends with you, I don't think h-he is the type of person to stop being your friend j-just because you asked a question."

Sakura gave Hinata a big smile, even if it did seem a bit reserved. The Hyuuga girl was meekly poking the tips of her index fingers together while staring at the table top.

"Thank you for the advice, Hinata. I think I'll take you up on it. I'm sorry if I seem blunt asking this, but I thought you liked Naruto too?"

Hinata let out a small squeak, and shrank back into her seat, almost as if she was trying to merge with it. She was quiet for a long while, but with all the girls staring at her, she finally gained enough courage to start speaking.

"W-well... I do l-like Naruto-kun... I've always admired him since the Academy. B-but I've known for a while t-that we could never be."

All of the kunoichi at the table had grim smiles of understanding or were frowning, but Yuna was the only one confused.

"Well, why is that Hinata-sama? Even I tried to ask Naruto-kun out..."

All of the girls except Sakura, who only groaned after Yuna mentioned that, stared at the civilian among them with wide eyes. Ino started giggling while Hinata gave a small smile as she answered.

"To be honest, I'm t-too timid for someone like Naruto-kun. He needs s-someone strong to keep him in line. It's well known among the shinobi p-population that Hokage-sama and Sakura are the only two people that are able to keep Naruto-kun in line when he... uhm... gets in trouble."

Yuna glanced at Sakura with a raised eyebrow, and the girl just gave her a meek smile and a small shrug.

"I'm only strong when I think about Naruto-kun as someone t-to look up to and believe in. I'm n-not the kind of person he could look up t-to for strength too, like Sakura is."

Hinata looked close to tears as she was explaining her situation to Yuna. The civilian medic was feeling bad about causing the girl to cry. "I'm sorry, Hinata-sama, for making you-"

She was cut off by a quick wave of a hand from Hinata, who was furiously wiping her eyes with her other hand. "Don't apologize. I think you actually helped me g-get a lot of this off my chest. I feel a lot better about everything now, even if it hurt to talk about it."

Sakura spoke quietly, one of her hands gently resting on the Hyuuga's shoulder. "You've been holding that in for a long time, haven't you?"

Hinata gave a gentle smile, still rubbing at her eyes, but she giggled a little as she spoke. It was almost as she was turning into an entirely new person in front of their eyes. "Actually, not as long as you might think. I r-realize now that if I wasn't so timid years ago, I could have had Naruto-kun back when you and Ino were constantly chasing after the... traitor."

Sakura and Ino looked at each other with wry smiles on their faces. Ino turned back to Hinata. "So why didn't you?"

Hinata looked directly at Ino for a moment, then shrugged and started playing with the glass in front of her, it's contents emptied long ago. "I have to admit that I had no self esteem. I was also too young to really understand what I was feeling. I'm sure I don't need to remind you about my… fainting. Being a-around Naruto-kun just seemed so overwhelming for me."

Nearly everyone at the table was showing some form of understanding. Yuna looked at all the faces, and realized that the two in the back were rather quiet. "Temari-san, Tenten-san... how come both of you are so quiet?"

Temari shrugged. "I think I said before I had no real interest in the brat, other than a lot of gratitude for helping my brother several times. I might have taken more of an interest had be been more mature. But he wasn't, so I'm not. End of story, really."

Accepting that answer, Yuna turned to face Tenten and gave the bun-haired girl a chance to explain.

Tenten just displayed a small smile and casually shrugged. "To be perfectly honest, while Naruto is a nice person, he's just not my type."

Ino laughed out loud at that, and snorted a few times trying to hold in her laughter. "Yeah, you prefer tall, pale, and feminine looking!"

Tenten was totally flabbergasted, while Hinata surprised most at the table yet again and burst out into peals of laughter. Tenten started defending herself and her choice once Hinata's laughter started to quiet down.

"Well, you have to admit that of all the boys we know, Neji is the most mature."

Silence reigned over the table for several moments, until Ino spoke up.

"I'll give you that point, though Neji will have to watch out. From what I've seen of Naruto the past few months, his maturity is growing so fast it has surprised me at times."

Even Sakura was nodding her head. "That's true. I've definitely been hitting him less, anyway. Though he still makes me twitch a lot."

Ino seized the conversation once again. "Has Neji at least acknowledged you yet, Tenten?"

Tenten frowned, then shrugged a bit. "Yes and no. Some days he gives me all of his attention, other days he acts like I don't even exist. It's frustrating, but I'm not giving up yet."

Hinata smiled. "You should keep trying. Neji-niisan has a lot to deal with, being in the branch family, but I'm sure he appreciates your interest in him." She leaned back and sighed a little. "Us Hyuuga's have about as much personality as a stick in the mud, huh?"

There was another moment of silence. Everyone was looking at each other, while Hinata appeared to be lost in thought.

"Well, I know that the Hyuuga's have to protect their children very closely because of the Byakugan, and that can have some negative side effects due to being kept from most others your age. Not to mention constantly being under watch." Sakura was giving Hinata a small smile, trying to offer some words of encouragement.

Hinata nodded, and smiled back at Sakura. She had opened her mouth and was about to reply to the pink haired girl, but Tenten cut her off before she could say anything.

"Oh crap."

Attention at the table quickly shifted to the weapon mistress. She was looking outside, where a small crowd was gathering. Once they noticed where she was looking, everyone else at the table shifted their gazes to that small crowd.

Temari leaned towards the glass a bit, squinting. "Isn't that your old instructor? What's his name… Gai?"

Tenten just groaned. "Yes, that's him. I saw Lee too, before the crowd started growing. I should go see what's up before they do something stupid." She quickly stood up and bowed to everyone at the table. "I hope we get to do this again sometime soon, even though there is an extended length mission coming up. I'm sorry for having to leave early."

She waved quickly and jogged out of the restaurant as everyone chorused their goodbyes. After Tenten exited the door, Ino stretched in her seat and yawned loudly, gaining everyone's attention.

"Well, as much as I'd love to stay and continue the party, I kind of want to go out there and see what's happening before Tenten puts a stop to it. Plus, I promised I'd meet up with Shikamaru and Chouji briefly before Naruto-kun runs the Gauntlet later this evening."

"I should probably also get going, I want to eat my lunch before it gets too cold." Yuna looked at the lunch box she was holding as she spoke.

"Sorry about that." Sakura looked remorseful.

Yuna waved it off. "It's alright. I was interested to meet your other friends anyway."

They all stood up, getting ready to leave. Temari barked out Ino's name to get her attention. "Mind if I follow you to your next meeting? I haven't nagged Shikamaru in a while. He's been hard to locate."

Ino got a sly look on her face again, and Temari just raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, you can come with me."

Sakura and Hinata both laughed lightly. Temari turned a questioning gaze onto them.

"You just walked right into that, Temari," Hinata explained, poking her fingertips together as she gave a little grin. "I'd r-recognize that look on Ino's face anywhere. She's going to s-start pumping you for information now."

Temari just rolled her eyes and shook her head, then headed for the door. Ino cackled like a madwoman, and roped one of her arms over Sakura's shoulder.

"My dear Forehead, would you like to come with me to watch me grill Temari and Shikamaru?"

Sakura giggled, and nodded her acceptance. "Sure, I have to kill some time until this evening anyway."

Ino turned and looked at Hinata and then at Yuna. "You both are welcome to join us if you wish."

Hinata smiled and politely refused. "Thank you for the offer, but I promised Hanabi that I would spar with her later this afternoon."

Ino nodded then focused her attention on Yuna. The civilian just raised the package she was holding in explanation.

"Oh, right… lunch. Sorry." All four girls chuckled lightly, then stopped abruptly as they exited the building. Temari was standing just outside, looking both amused and resigned.

All the girls stared as Gai and his apprentice Lee started running off, shouting something about 'Youth', but their words couldn't be heard over the cheering of the crowd. They watched as an obviously furious Tenten started chasing after them, throwing weapons of all make at them with wild abandon.

"Why is she doing that?"

All the girls there looked at Yuna in shock, but then a sly smirk started spreading across Sakura's face.

"I'll have to introduce you to Gai and his apprentice Lee sometime, Yuna-san."

Yuna looked excited at the prospect of meeting more shinobi. Ino started laughing outright, while Hinata and Temari looked pained.

Hinata gently poked Sakura's arm. "That's not very nice subjecting her to that, Sakura."

Sakura just grinned and winked at Hinata. "If it gets bad, I'll help her run away. I promise."

Hinata just shook her head. Yuna was standing there looking confused as Ino walked over and gave her a pat on the back.

"Gai and Lee are probably the most eccentric shinobi in Konoha. They take a little bit of getting used to."

"Eccentric, huh? Sounds interesting." Yuna gave a big smile. "I'm going to go eat my lunch now. Hopefully I'll see you all again sometime!" She waved quickly, then turned and started walking off at a brisk pace as the other girls stared at her back with something akin to shock. She was either very brave or incredibly shortsighted.

Shortly after Yuna left, the remaining kunoichi parted ways with Hinata, then headed off towards one of the nearby training grounds to meet up with the rest of Ino's old genin team.

* * *

**Edited:** November 2nd, 2009

Up Next: Gauntlet


	8. Gauntlet

Chapter 8

"Are you absolutely sure you have everything you need?"

Naruto turned his head sideways to look at the person walking with him.

"Once again, yes. All I'm allowed to bring with me into the Gauntlet is kunai and a few exploding tags anyway."

Inuzuka Kiba snorted, then looked at his canine companion.

"I don't get it Akamaru. How come he gets to go from Genin to Jounin in one day? I call that special treatment. I'd run the Gauntlet too if I got to become a jounin."

Naruto just sighed. "I'm not becoming a full Jounin. Just a Tokubetsu Jounin. Besides, there is no guarantee I'll even pass the test. Supposedly the Gauntlet hasn't been used since the Third War."

Akamaru barked something, and Kiba gave a humorless chuckle. "Yeah, I guess he is."

Naruto was about to ask what Akamaru had said but before he could comment, a female ANBU suddenly appeared in front of them, stopping them both mid-stride.

"Uzumaki-san, Hokage-sama requests your presence as soon as you are able at training ground five for the next portion of your testing."

Naruto nodded at the ANBU, who glanced at Kiba and hesitated a moment, then returned her gaze to Naruto. She gave him a quick salute and performed shunshin immediately after, leaving both Kiba and Naruto a bit confused.

"Uhm... did she just salute you?"

"It looked like it."

"Damn." There was a brief moment of silence when they started walking again before Kiba tossed a question Naruto's way. "Did you notice those curves on her? She was hot... and she saluted you! I wonder who she is behind that mask... There aren't many shinobi with purple hair."

Another moment passed, and when Kiba received no reply he turned his head to get a look at Naruto. The boy was staring at him incredulously.

"Huh? Why are you giving me that look?"

Naruto just groaned and rolled his eyes. "I know who that ANBU was... but what is it with perverts? I've had two sensei's, met countless nobles who were, and now one of my friends is too. I hope you don't become a jounin instructor, I'd feel sorry for the kids you get."

"What?! Hey, there's nothing wrong with looking! Come on!"

Naruto just shook his head and jumped up onto a nearby rooftop, then proceeded to speed off towards training ground 5.

Kiba was just left standing there, mouth agape. "Sheesh, what crawled up his ass and died..."

Akamaru let out a few low-pitch barks, that sounded like the equivalent of human laughter.

"Oh no, not you too!"

Another quick series of barks, and Akamaru took off to chase after Naruto.

Kiba just stood there dumbfounded, having been abandoned by his friend and his partner.

"I'm not that bad, am I?"

--

The evening sky was beginning to take on a reddish hue as Naruto landed at training area five. As soon as he set foot at the entrance to the grounds, the few people that had gathered there all turned to look at him. Naruto recognized everyone there, although there were a few faces he was looking for that he didn't see yet.

The ANBU woman who delivered Naruto's summons moments ago was talking to Tsunade, and when Naruto arrived, she nodded once at the Hokage and sped off into the trees. Tsunade started chatting with Shizune as Naruto walked over to them, both females watching him as he approached.

"Placing bets baa-chan? Shizune-nee?"

Shizune giggled while Tsunade let out a loud 'harrumph'. "So what if we were? How is that your business?"

"If you're betting that I pass, please don't. That means I'll fail."

Poor Shizune was having a hard time not breaking into laughter outright, while Naruto had a sly smirk that was slowly spreading across his face. Tsunade simply raised an eyebrow and apparently decided to ignore him, since she turned away and addressed the group of people nearby.

"Alright, you four come over here so I can start explaining this test to the brat."

As the four approached, Naruto examined each one to gauge their moods. Homura and Koharu were present, as expected. As retired shinobi, they were the leaders of the civilian portion of the council. Actually, Koharu was... but since they were old teammates of the Sandaime, wherever Koharu went Homura usually followed. They both appeared calm and their expressions were totally blank. Naruto couldn't recall ever seeing one of them smile - it was either a scowl, sneer, mild approval, or nothing at all.

While he didn't know either of the members of the civilian council very well, he knew the two representatives from the shinobi clan portion of the council very well. While he didn't expect Hyuuga Hiashi to be a judge for his test, he had anticipated that there would be someone here he wasn't on totally friendly terms with. The man had been a steadfast voice of dissent when he was younger, and while he let most slights against him go by without a second thought, it didn't mean he would forget about them. Admittedly, the man had been much more cordial towards him in recent years, and Naruto could only guess that some of his recent accomplishments had made the man change his mind about him. Or at least he hoped that was the case. The jounin hopeful had to tread carefully around that man, especially since he was in charge of the only truly powerful clan left in Konoha - politically and militarily.

The fourth person caught Naruto by surprise. A pleasant surprise, at least. Nara Shikaku wasn't among his most staunch supporters, but Shikamaru's father was decidedly fair in all things. He didn't know much else about the man, but after listening to Shikamaru calling his mother troublesome because she was complaining he was just like his father, he just knew there wasn't anything to worry about.

"As you can see, three of the four groups needed to judge your test are here, while the fourth is putting the finishing touches on the course you'll be running. I will explain the process."

Tsunade gestured at the four who just approached. "My advisors Homura and Koharu represent the civilian portion of the council. While they have significantly less sway in the matters of Konoha military goings-on, they do still have a say. On the other hand, Shikaku and Hiashi here represent the shinobi portion of the council. Other than myself, they will have the largest say in your prospects of further promotion."

After a deep breath, the Hokage continued. "I am the third of four votes. Just because I consider you to be like a grandson to me does not mean I will be going easy on you. If anything, it will make it harder for you. I don't want anything to happen to you, and I want you to assuage any fears that I may have about promoting you too early. While many shinobi younger than you have been promoted higher than you are now, not one of them is as special as you are. Not just to me, but to Konoha as a whole. Even the other hags on the council will have to agree about that."

Koharu made a noise like she wanted to retort, but decided against it and kept her mouth shut. Homura was unreadable as always, but Shikaku looked like he was desperately trying not to chuckle. The biggest surprise for Naruto, though, was that Hiashi was actually smiling. Of all the times he saw the man in the past, he didn't think it was possible.

Tsunade cleared her throat, bringing Naruto's attention back to her. "The fourth and final vote will be cast by three of your shinobi peers, who will be here once the course is set up. They will be observing you as you run the course, and will do everything in their power to try to get you to fail."

Naruto was watching Tsunade with crystal clear eyes and giving her his total undivided attention. He had even surprised himself at this point, and hadn't spoken a word since she started talking. He couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like the four members of the council that were here were eyeing him with... approval? They didn't betray their feelings through their expressions... but they weren't viewing him with the distaste that he was used to, either.

"Naruto!"

Naruto's focus snapped back to Tsunade. He quickly forced out an apology. "My apologies, Hokage-sama. I was thinking about what you have told me, and trying to examine my options from what I've been able to see of the course so far."

Tsunade, as well as Shizune and the council members present seemed completely stunned and at a loss for words after Naruto spoke. After several seconds of complete silence, and Naruto wondering if he said something wrong, Tsunade managed to find her voice again.

"I... see. Well, that is certainly a good thing, and your diligence has been noted. However, it might also help you to finish listening to the briefing before you start mission planning, no?"

Naruto gave a quick bow in apology. "I stand corrected Hokage-sama. Please continue."

Once again he was met with stunned silence. On the outside, Naruto was maintaining his stoic demeanor, but on the inside he was slowly dying. He wanted to break out laughing with the expressions they all had on their faces.

Before anyone could find a way to state their surprise at Naruto's overwhelming display of maturity, three ANBU appeared between Naruto and the Hokage, slightly off to the side. Naruto immediately recognized one because of his tall silver hair, and it didn't take much longer for him to recognize the woman with purple hair either. He barely repressed his urge to shout out to both of them, quickly remembering where he was and what he would be doing.

"Is the course ready?"

All three had obviously worked together before, as they simultaneously removed their masks, nodded once to the Hokage, then gave Naruto a small wave.

Tsunade sweat dropped. "You three practiced doing that, didn't you?"

The silver-haired cyclops spoke up first. "You told us to get comfortable with each other again Hokage-sama, and we did just that."

Tsunade just put her head in her hand and sighed. Naruto used this as an opportunity to talk to the three.

"Kakashi-sensei, why are you back in ANBU?" He wanted to ask him another question, about his father, but realized that this probably wasn't the best time or place to put the man on the spot.

Team Seven's old leader turned to look at him again. "It pertains to your mission. I'll be happy to explain later, but I don't think we have the luxury of time right now."

Naruto pouted a little, but quickly nodded in acceptance, then moved his focus onto the next person, who had finally located his senbon and had it perched in that familiar spot between his teeth.

"Genma-san, you too?"

Genma merely nodded, and pointed at Kakashi. "He'll explain later."

Once again, Naruto just had to nod and moved on.

"Good to see you again after all this time, Yuugao-chan."

Uzuki Yuugao gave Naruto a big smile. "You too, Naruto-kun. Sorry I've not come to see you since you got back from your trip, I was on a mission, but it looks like you grew up just fine."

Naruto nodded and tossed her a grin, ready to move on with the test, but Kakashi had other plans. He started pointing at Yuugao. "Yuugao-chan?" He followed up quickly by pointing at Naruto. "Naruto-kun? When? How?"

Yuugao swatted at Kakashi's hand. "Who do you think watched him when his first monitor was no longer around and you were otherwise... indisposed?"

Kakashi had the good grace to look sheepish, while Genma was scratching his chin and snickering. Tsunade and the others looked mildly amused as well.

"Besides, he used to watch Hayate and I practice kenjutsu all the time during his last two years of the Academy. He learned a few things too."

Everyone looked surprised yet again, and Yuugao just winked at Naruto and made a small show of blowing him a kiss. Naruto blushed slightly, but was grinning nonetheless. Struggling with giddiness at being tested against some of the best in Konoha, he managed to center his attention back on the Hokage.

Tsunade nodded at him when she noticed she had his attention, and started explaining the test. "The Gauntlet is a test that can be performed in a multitude of ways depending on what the circumstances are. As you are aware, you are being sent on a mission that can last several years, and you are responsible for not only yourself, but the people working under you. Your actions will directly impact Konoha and the Fire Country, so we are placing quite a bit on your shoulders."

Tsunade took a deep breath before continuing. "However, as I'm sure you and everyone else that knows of the Kyuubi is aware that Akatsuki is still out there. They have been rather quiet for a while now, which could mean several things. Best of all would be that they are disbanded, but I think we all know the chances of that are next to nothing, considering they only have two bijuu left to capture before they have them all. For this purpose, the Gauntlet has been set up to test your ability to escape."

"If Akatsuki comes after you, they will want you - and you alone. It will be your responsibility to lure them away from the base you set up to keep everyone else safe. We don't want a hostage situation. Once you have lured them away sufficiently, get to Konoha as fast as you can."

The Hokage gestured to the trees behind her, at the beginning of the course. "Many of the traps have been set up in the forest to resemble the attacks of multiple elements, as all the members of Akatsuki we have encountered thus far have been able to control multiple, if not all the elements. This will test your ability to spot traps while still moving through the forest at a reasonable clip while in darkness. All the while, you will be observed and attacked by your shinobi peers. They will be trying to be just like Akatsuki - maim and capture, but not kill." Tsunade gestured at the three ANBU. Kakashi and Genma were staring at him with somewhat bored expressions, while Yuugao was obviously trying to get a rise out of him. She was gazing at him with half-lidded eyes and licking her lips slowly. Naruto paled and fidgeted slightly, shifting his weight, but managed to tear his eyes away from the attractive ANBU and tried focus on the Hokage once more, but his thoughts kept wandering.

Curse Kiba, he was right. If it hadn't been pointed it out, Naruto could have continued living in his blissful ignorance until it became painfully obvious. But now that he had looked... damn it, if Yuugao didn't look good. He had never really looked at her in that manner before, since she had watched over him for so long, and they treated each other like brother and sister. He was too young before he left to train with Jiraiya to really notice, but now since-

A throat clearing itself loudly in front of him snapped him back to reality. He wondered how long he had been dozing, it only felt like a second. But it was obviously a bit longer than that, since almost everyone was snickering, including the Hokage.

"Ah... sor-"

Tsunade cut him off. "Don't worry about it. You're still young, and while you've been surprising all of us with your maturity, nobody is perfect. Just don't turn into Jiraiya on me. Otherwise, I think I can forgive you this time. Now... Yuugao!"

Yuugao snapped to attention immediately.

"I know you get a kick out of teasing Naruto, and we all enjoyed watching it, but we really need to get this show on the road."

"Understood."

Another nod between them, and Tsunade turned back to Naruto once more. "Now as I was saying... we're testing your escape abilities. Promoting you to jounin isn't possible, as there are rules. You haven't been a chuunin for the required 6 months, therefore you couldn't achieve that rank right now even if the entire council agreed you should have it. I think we all here know you are strong enough, with several high level jutsu at your disposal, but it's not all about jutsu. Therefore, we are giving you this test for a potential promotion to Tokubetsu Jounin. Your specializations are escape and close combat, which I think everyone here can agree on."

Tsunade glanced around at everyone, to just to make sure, and was met with nods of agreement all around.

"Good, then that's settled. You three, go prepare for the test to start."

The three ANBU nodded simultaneously, donned their masks once again, and quickly vanished. Naruto was staring at the ground where they just were and thinking about the upcoming test. He had to make do with just kunai and a few exploding tags for this as well, he was told in the beginning those few items were all he could use. Now he knew why... in an emergency, if he had to leave quickly, it was likely he wouldn't have time to grab anything to take with him. He made a mental note to try to figure a way around that glaring problem... he needed a way to keep extra supplies just in case something did happen.

Hearing his name being called in the distance pulled him from his musings. He turned around slightly to see where it was coming from, and noted with some surprise and curiosity as Ino, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Chouji ran up to him.

"Hey guys, whats up?"

Naturally, Ino was the first to yell at him. "We're here to watch and cheer you on, baka!"

Naruto held his hands up in front of himself in self defense. "Whoa, whoa, I was just asking!"

Ino shrank back a bit, looking slightly deflated. "I'm sorry, I was just really excited and scared for you, and I thought you had started already. I was just a bit antsy."

Shikamaru snorted, and Ino turned sharply to glare at him, but the boy obviously knew better than to say anything since he just yawned and started walking over towards his father.

"So...do you think you're ready?" Chouji asked him, which was surprising since the two never really talked to each other much outside of missions. It was also surprising that Chouji didn't have his typical bag of chips anywhere in sight.

"Eh, as ready as I can be." Naruto nodded in affirmation. Chouji seemed to accept this and nodded as well, then placed his arm on Ino's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. The girl's emotions had been on a roller coaster ever since they met up earlier, and now she was looking scared and frantic.

"See Ino? Nothing to worry about. He says he's going to do it, and this is Naruto we're talking about after all."

Ino seemed to visibly calm down at Chouji's words, and turned to give him a small smile in gratitude. "Thanks Chouji. You're right, it is-"

"Naruto!"

Ino stopped talking and they all turned at the sound of the Hokage's voice to look at her.

"Everyone's ready. Let's get this show on the road. We're losing light, and we want to at least start while the sun is still in the sky."

Naruto shouted his affirmative, and started to head off in the direction of the forest, but suddenly stopped and turned back around.

"Ne, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura had been quiet, content watching the others interact. Being put on the spot suddenly made her uncomfortable for some reason unknown to her.

"Y-yes, Naruto?"

"Wish me luck?"

Sakura blinked for a few seconds, mouth slightly agape. Then a thought suddenly clicked in her head, and she gave him a small smile. "You don't need any luck Naruto, you have enough as it is. Tell you what, though... if you pass the test, I'll give you a surprise."

It was Naruto's turn to blink. He took a moment to process what she said, then gave her one of his usual big grins. "You better get that surprise ready then, Sakura-chan! I'll be back to claim it before you know it!" That said, Naruto turned and sped off towards the fringe of the forest, chuckling the entire way.

"I swear, Forehead, you're the only one who can make him go from genius to blithering idiot in a matter of seconds."

Sakura looked at Ino, shock written all over her features. "What do you mean?!"

Ino just chuckled and waved it off. "It just amazes me how much he can change, talking to you. He went from being all serious to acting like a little kid who was promised candy."

Believing there was no real point in continuing that line of conversation, Sakura just shrugged and waved for the other two to follow her as she started walking towards the Hokage.

* * *

"So how long is this supposed to take, again?"

Everyone but the Hokage and the council members groaned as Ino asked the same question for what had to be at least the dozenth time that night. They had since moved to another training ground, fourteen, which is where the Gauntlet ended. The group had watched all night as various noises and lights had filled the night, both from traps and attacks initiated by the three ANBU on Naruto's trail. The noises were getting louder, which meant that Naruto was quickly approaching the end.

"As I explained once before, based on the estimated location of the future base, it would take our fastest shinobi at least 8 hours of nonstop travel to reach Konoha - assuming they aren't being attacked and chased down the entire way. So we again estimated for Naruto that it would likely take over 10 hours of constant travel." Tsunade looked up to the trees in the distance as a fireball that obviously missed its target sped away into the night sky, dissipating as it ran out of chakra. "Based on his current position in the Gauntlet, it appears we underestimated his abilities slightly. It's only been just over 9 hours, and there's maybe fifteen minutes left."

Ino appeared to accept this explanation, as she yawned slightly then stared off into the distance, where there were still quite a few flashes of light.

Sakura moved over and stood beside her. "So, do you think he's covered in bruises by now?"

Ino snorted derisively. "Naruto? Are you kidding? Other than myself, my dad, and the Hokage - he is the best shinobi I know!" Ino couldn't keep a straight face as Sakura started giggling next to her... shortly after both of them were gasping for breath and holding their sides as they let go of their anxiety.

Sakura tossed a grateful look to Ino. "Thanks... I needed that."

Ino smiled and looked off into the distance again. "Thank you for asking the question so I could respond like that. Of course I'm worried about him."

Sakura nodded. "Me too. This does seem a bit extreme."

Ino nodded, and looked over at the Hokage. While it was still completely dark out, the occasional flashes of light were bright enough to light her face up enough for Ino to see it clearly. Even though she was under a deep genjutsu to hide her actual age, lines of worry crossed Tsunade's face in every place imaginable.

"I wonder if Hokage-sama has had second thoughts this entire time. I'm surprised she hasn't bitten all her nails off. I've seen her chewing them down to nothing all night. I didn't know she had a nervous habit."

Sakura turned briefly to gaze at the Hokage before she said anything. "Tsunade-shishou is strong. She may not look it sometimes, but I know she's stronger than anyone else here. According to her, she has Naruto to thank for her strength now. So it's only appropriate that she's worried about him. Some days I think he's the only thing keeping her here."

Ino sighed. "It seems like we have a lot to thank Naruto for."

Sakura nodded in agreement, but did not say anything further. They both watched side by side as various jutsus continued to light up the sky.

They were vaguely aware of the sun starting its slow rise into the sky behind them.

* * *

Another kunai whipped past Naruto as he deftly swung underneath a branch. It was another close call - one of many this night, he lost count of just how many he'd had so far several hours ago. His arms, legs, and torso were littered with little cuts and bruises he had received from the tons of kunai, shuriken, and other weapons that had been thrown at him during the course of his travels through the Gauntlet. His left foot was still tingling and slightly numb from a lightning element based tag that he had accidentally stepped on roughly an hour ago.

The noise from that had caused the three ANBU chasing after him to come at him full force once again, keeping him flipping from branch to branch while deflecting their thrown weapons with one of the few kunai he had remaining. He was kept from using any of his own jutsus by the trio, mainly because as much as he liked to believe his chakra supply was limitless, it wasn't. He had plenty to draw from, certainly, and made expeditious use of his Kage Bunshin to throw the ANBU off his trail more than once, or to detonate a trap that he knew he couldn't avoid.

But he was getting dangerously low on chakra now, he could feel it. Some of his latest Kage Bunshin had some rather... animalistic traits, and he knew that the fox's chakra was nibbling away at the fringes of his consciousness, begging for release. He was being more conservative with his chakra as a result, and was suffering for it too. The ANBU on his trail were alternating with each other to conserve their chakra. One would chase him for a bit, then swap out before they used too much. Then they could follow behind at a more leisurely pace, regenerating as they went. They definitely knew how to work together, that was for certain.

Of the three of them, however, Yuugao was the most bold, hands down. When they had first started the Gauntlet, every time it was her turn to try to 'capture' him, she would sometimes tease him by getting a lot closer to him than Kakashi or Genma ever would. While he knew that she wouldn't purposefully hurt him - at least not badly - he understood when she was trying to teach him a lesson, as she had done many times in the past. At first Naruto thought she was just going to try and distract him at a crucial point and make him stumble into a trap. Each time she appeared, though, she kept getting closer and closer, making him sweat. In an attempt to mess up whatever she may have been planning, he gave her a grin and a wave when she was within a few steps of him. She disappeared for a moment, only to startle him by appearing right next to him... and gave him a pat on the back before disappearing again.

He whipped off his jacket in a panic, thinking she had slapped a tag on him... but there was nothing. Cursing to himself, he had started putting it back on, only to hear kunai flying through the air at him. Knowing he wouldn't get a chance to put it back on at this rate, he let it go and swiftly moved to the next branch. It was a while before he encountered Yuugao again, but it was a moment that he doubted he would ever forget. The sun had set, so he felt her approach more than he could see her. She was easy to sense since she was boosting her speed by using chakra, and Naruto altered his course slightly so he could try and see her approach and potentially counter any attack.

She moved up next to him and did something he never expected; she felt him up for a brief moment, then disappeared again. Completely stunned, Naruto lost his concentration badly. It had cost him dearly too, quick thinking and skillful use of Kage Bunshin were the only thing that kept him from becoming more than a dark red stain on the forest floor. There were two traps on the next branch he landed on that he just barely managed to avoid.

After several more close encounters, Naruto finally caught onto her game. She was doing it on purpose, taking advantage of what some other ninja might consider to be a weakness. Unlike some people he knew, he wasn't a pervert, or at least consciously avoided trying to be a big one. He respected women. Yuugao was trying to teach him a lesson in her usual way, through a hands-on approach. Though this was a lot more 'hands-on' from her than Naruto had ever experienced before. What Yuugao was doing to him was somewhat commonplace in the shinobi world, many kunoichi - especially the better looking ones - used their appearance and physique to get close to their targets or enemies and distract them with so-called 'eye-candy'. Naruto was now quick to notice that Yuugao had the body to be extremely effective at making anyone she tried this on either extremely uncomfortable or mad with lust. Either way, they'd be easy pickings when she finally decided to move in for the kill.

Once he caught on, however, he was ready for her the next time. Jutsu wasn't all Jiraiya taught him. He mentally prepared himself for their next encounter.

When she finally did approach him once again, Naruto was ready. The moment she made her move, he made his as well. Yuugao must have been expecting him to try to block again, like he had all the other times, so she didn't stop him at all when he made to reach for her. He heard a muffled gasp from behind her mask, and she clumsily retreated and batted his hands away. Naruto winced as she disappeared from his vision. He might have been a little rougher than he intended to be, he only wanted to surprise her, not hurt her.

After that little incident, he was still attacked from range, but he didn't see any of the three ANBU chasing him. They would usually make themselves visible before an attack to herd him to a specific section of the Gauntlet - typically an area riddled with traps. For a while, he was able to move with nearly no impediments, other than the occasional kunai or shuriken tossed his way to keep him going in a certain direction. Right about the time he figured he really should apologize to Yuugao after this Gauntlet run was over, she appeared next to him without her mask on, winked at him and slapped his ass... HARD. He yelped and stumbled - right onto that lightning trap - which made his foot go numb. As a result, he had to use his hands for a lot of the swinging from branch to branch immediately after, leaving him open to attacks by the weapons which started coming after him with revived gusto.

Not long after his foot went numb, his senses detected one of the ANBU closing in. After hours of being chased by the three of them, Naruto managed to isolate who the different chakra signatures belonged to - this one was approaching his back at full speed, and was definitely Kakashi. Mind snapping back to the issue at hand, Naruto abruptly changed his course, and flipped up through the top of the trees. Only being able to fully utilize one foot was problematic when traveling at high speed, and with Kakashi bearing down on him, he felt it was safer to go up rather than down. Kakashi took a moment to adjust, as if to follow, but then seemed to change his mind and moved through the trees below, racing ahead of Naruto.

Cursing silently under his breath, Naruto realized his mistake. He completely exposed his position, and Kakashi was going to teach him a lesson. If he had gone down towards the ground, he would have been slowed but still able to change his course. It wasn't possible to do that from his current airborne state. His old sensei was currently moving ahead to where Naruto was going to land, and intercept him when he landed. Flipping through his jutsu arsenal, he realized that being as low as he was on chakra and not wanting to risk the fox's involvement, he would have to settle for an old fashioned C rank fireball and hope that it distracted Kakashi well enough for him to get away.

Taking just a second to look ahead to see how close he was to the end of the Gauntlet, he was shocked to realize he was almost there. Maybe another five minutes of fast travel, if that. Finding new determination, he changed his posture in midair, and aimed himself forward and down.

Naruto raced through a few hand seals and brought his hands to his mouth. Feeling the familiar tug of chakra being pulled towards his mouth, he willed it to ignite, and it caught fire. Quickly molding it into a ball, he launched it out in front of his current path. Normally it would be impossible for him to perform this simple jutsu because of his massive amounts of chakra, but since it was currently so low, it was incredibly easy.

The decently sized ball of fire crashed through the foliage ahead of him, lighting all manner of leaves and limbs on fire before crashing into the forest floor below, and spreading a thick smoke everywhere. Naruto hoped it was enough to cover a last sprint for the goal line. He landed on one branch and winced as his half numb left foot screamed in pain at him. Launching over to another tree, Naruto was about to land on the next branch and continue for the goal line, but his heart sank.

Kakashi appeared on the branch he was going to land on, and said two simple words that made Naruto's spirit crumble, "Too slow."

The reinstated ANBU launched a kunai off to his side, and Naruto watched in horror as it flew towards a tag. If Kakashi was going to trip a tag, that could only mean that tag set off other tags in the area. There could be dozens of traps that would spring at once, if not more.

Reaching around in his kunai pouch frantically, he grabbed the first kunai he could wrap his sore, bloodied hand around. Many of the smaller cuts had healed already, thanks to the fox's regenerating abilities, but some of the larger ones were still bleeding lightly. Only pausing for a second to realize that it was his father's special kunai he was about to throw, he didn't waste any time and launched it.

It missed.

He was vaguely aware that the course of the kunai was off, the blood on his hands made the kunai slip out of his hand earlier than he had intended. Naruto prepared himself to bolt for the canopy again if a bunch of traps were activated. However, just as he prepared to launch himself, his left foot decided it didn't like him anymore. He slipped on the branch, and started to fall. Then several things seemed to happen in slow motion.

He heard the hissing noise of several fireball trap tags being activated. He didn't have time to look around, but he did manage to see one activating right below him. Directly where he was starting to fall.

He was sure that Kakashi had at least tried to reach for him, he felt something grab at his arm, then a tearing noise, and he was free falling.

He swore he heard his name being screamed by someone, it did sound rather feminine... and that could only mean Yuugao.

As he watched the fireball approach his face, he felt his extremities begin to tingle. His toes, fingertips... his hair felt like it was suddenly filled with static. Naruto thought that was quite strange, as a fireball is hot and he should feel pain. But the sensation he was feeling now sort of... tickled.

Naruto felt himself falling faster, and was finally beginning to feel the heat of the fireball that was swiftly approaching. The tingling got incredibly intense rather fast, though now it felt more like parts of his body were being pulled somewhere. He didn't really think much about it, and figured anywhere was better than he was now, about to be struck in the face by a large ball of fire.

So he let it pull him.

He simply... went.

* * *

Tsunade and the rest watched as Naruto flew up over the top of the trees, then readjusted himself and launched a fireball as he dove back in.

She vaguely heard Hiashi mutter something along the lines of "Intriguing.", but didn't pay it much attention. Naruto was nearing the end of the Gauntlet, and she wasn't going to miss his moment of triumph for all the gambling winnings in the world.

Seconds passed, which felt like minutes. The group was startled when a uniquely shaped kunai flew out from the trees and lodged itself in the ground, not more than twenty meters in front of them. There were a few startled comments that were thrown about, before their attention went immediately back to the forest as they heard a faint scream. Immediately after, several fireballs burst out of the treetops.

In a brilliant flash of yellow and orange, Naruto appeared in front of them, not more than twenty meters away, his foot rubbing against the kunai on the ground next to him. In the seconds after he appeared, there were a few startled gasps. Tsunade didn't pay any attention to them, as she was more curious about Naruto's condition after that grueling test than the 'how's' or 'why's' of his arrival. His clothes were in tatters, barely hanging on his lean yet muscular frame. His body was riddled with cuts, some bleeding rather profusely. There was deep bruises on his legs and arms, which seemed to be growing in size and discoloration before her very eyes.

He said something, and she noticed his smile. But that smile didn't last long as he coughed. A normal cough wouldn't worry Tsunade. This cough came with a lot of blood. That was a bad sign.

He fell to the ground, and she was at his side before she even realized she moved.

* * *

One second, he had a fireball staring him in the face.

The next second, he felt a cool breeze blowing across his aching limbs.

He didn't know how he got there, only that he was there. Thats all that really mattered. It means he finished the Gauntlet. That hellish thing, he never wanted to do another one for the rest of his life.

Noticing everyone staring at him in shock, he smiled. "Hey guys, I did it!"

Then the pain hit. It was slow at first, then it rolled over him like an avalanche. His arms and legs screamed at him in pain, they felt abused, and they were going to take their suffering out on him.

After the avalanche passed, the volcano started rising from his chest. It felt like someone had smashed something big and heavy against his ribcage. He felt a tickle at the back of his throat, and coughed to get rid of it. To his chagrin, something red came with it. He tasted copper. That meant internal bleeding. Not a good sign. He was lucky, however, that the three best medics he knew of were right there in front of him.

He wanted to talk again, but shortly found that his legs refused to function anymore. He started falling toward the ground, and wanted to place his hands in front of him to cushion his fall. But his arms proved to be unresponsive as well.

Stupid body.

Naruto crashed to the ground, face first. He didn't feel any pain though, his nervous system was apparently already overloaded. He idly wondered if the Kyuubi was ranting at him from within its cage about how much damage he let happen to his body. On second thought, it probably didn't care... just so long as he didn't die.

What did that fox know anyway. It's his body. Even if it was being stupid at the moment, and not responding to him.

Naruto thought he felt something... no, someone... touch him, and carefully roll him onto his back. His thoughts were muddled, eyelids heavy, and he coughed again. That damn copper taste. So nasty.

He felt something hit his face. It felt like water, but he wasn't sure. Wasn't the sky clear just a minute ago?

A brief flash of pink his darkening vision made him wonder what could have possibly happened to the clouds to make them such an interesting color...

Then he realized he was tired of thinking.

So Naruto went to sleep, and knew no more.

* * *

**Edited:** December 19th, 2009

Up Next: Highs and Lows


	9. Highs and Lows

Chapter 9

Naruto couldn't remember the last time he hurt so much. Normally when he received a wound somewhere, that particular body part would hurt, but even that pain would only last so long. Any wound he received would also heal faster naturally than a wound on any other shinobi, because of the fox sealed within him. Even when it came to scarring, he retained none. Wondering why he was still in such pain, Naruto started grumbling at the fox in his mind, wondering why now of all times it didn't want to heal him when yet it was so eager to give him power before.

His mind shifting back to his current wounds, Naruto remembered his thoughts about the fox eliminating all trace of showing he was ever injured. The hole punched through his lung by Sasuke three years ago? Gone without a trace.

If it wasn't for Tsunade's medical skill and confirmation that the cells in that part of his body were much newer than the ones elsewhere on his body, no one would have believed it possible. None wanted to believe that their beloved last Uchiha would betray them, and attack a fellow leaf nin. The newest Hokage had quickly confirmed his story, however, and had other doctors check areas on his chest that she pinpointed specifically. They concurred with her assessment.

Thus the opinion of many in the village of Uchiha Sasuke was completely shattered. The villagers, Naruto had come to understand, were very fickle people. They would be willing to turn on someone at a moments notice, if they didn't do what the villages 'status quo' deemed to be acceptable behavior. As a result of Sasuke's apparent defection, the Uchiha district had been closed off indefinitely as of the time Naruto left for his training trip. He inspected it when he came back only to find it completely gone, and replaced by new apartments.

He sought out Sakura shortly after for some clarification, just to make sure he wasn't losing his mind. She confirmed that the civilian council had auctioned off various lots of the Uchiha's land to the highest bidder to do with as they wished. Since the Uchiha clan no longer had any representation in the council, their land was forfeit and going to waste. Naruto was livid at first, but that quickly changed when Sakura hit him to stop his rant. She explained that she had been upset at first as well, but then eventually understood the position of the village. The Uchiha had quite a lot of land, as they were one of the first clans to settle in Konoha, but it was all sitting there unused now. Usually a clan was responsible for the care of its own land, but since there was no clan living there anymore, it was falling to ruin.

It was an eyesore, and it could be used for other things. So some of the land was siphoned off for use by the city, part as a training ground and another part as an ANBU indoctrination and training facility. The rest was put on the auction block. The result of which Naruto had seen for himself.

Naruto was quickly pulled from his memories as he heard the window to his room open. Judging from the smell and the stiff bed he was used to by now, he had figured he was in the hospital when he first awoke. He tried to open his eyes, but discovered shortly that he had bandages over them. At first he was in a state of panic, hoping nothing happened to his eyes, but then quickly realized that he was completely restrained in the bed... so he'd be at anyone's mercy should they try anything.

Plus, his body just plain hurt to much to bother trying anything right now. So he decided to lie there and wait.

The window had since closed, and he heard a grunt. Quickly sniffing the air, he caught a whiff of oil and cheap perfume. That could only mean one person.

"Is tha-"

Naruto tried to ask if it was indeed who he thought it was, but was interrupted by a series of many dry coughs. His guess was confirmed a second later when the person who entered the room spoke.

"Easy gaki! Here, drink some water first."

Naruto didn't notice until now that his mouth was incredibly dry... he had bandages running across his nose as well, so he might have broken it when he fell face first onto the ground. That means he had probably been breathing through his mouth for a while until his nose had been fixed.

He sat up as much as he could while still having his arms and legs bound to the bed, and soon after felt the cool glass pressing against his lower lip. Opening his mouth he allowed some water to enter it, then swallowed, almost choking it down. After suffering through another coughing fit, he nodded, and drank some more. Eventually his mouth no longer felt completely dry, and he leaned back once again.

"Hi, ero-sennin." He winced internally at the sound of his own voice. It sounded so raspy and... weak.

He heard a drawn out sigh. "I'm glad you're okay, but I must say - you certainly do the strangest things."

This confused Naruto. "What do you mean? I don't remember doing anything strange, other than what I was instructed to do."

There was a light chuckle. "I just got back about thirty minutes ago, Tsunade told me about your Gauntlet run. I'm sorry I wasn't here to watch it."

"It's fine. I know you're a... busy person."

Jiraiya chose not to reply to that. Naruto wasn't acting like the Naruto he was used to. Besides, by the way he paused before the last part of what he last said... he got the impression Naruto wanted to say something else.

"I was out trying to contact the person who can train you in your element. They agreed after much persuasion, and only after I told them you wouldn't be in Konoha when they would be training you."

"Probably because of my status, huh?"

There was a slight pause. "Actually no. I didn't tell them who they would be training. I only said you were my apprentice, and that I don't have a wind affinity so it is something I cannot teach you."

"Any reason why this person didn't want to come to Konoha?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't press for details. They're one of my best information gatherers that I have near the Rice Field Country, and I don't like to get too close to my spies anyway. I've never seen their real appearance, since they disguise themselves with a henge. It's better that way, so in case something bad should happen, I won't be able to identify them. All spies take risks, something you'll understand one day when you either become the next spymaster, or Hokage."

"So how do you know this person has a wind affinity?"

"We were discovered by some Sound shinobi one evening at a tavern near the border. The spy took them all out with an interesting wind bullet technique that I had never seen before. I inquired, they confirmed, and that was the end of that topic of conversation."

"So you're willing to pawn me off on someone that you'd be hard pressed to identify, and only see maybe a handful of times a year?" Naruto's voice was losing it's raspy edge and was getting louder as he got his strength back.

"Look, gaki - I'm trying to get you help in the only way I know how. I told you before that wind users are extremely rare, especially good ones. I figured someone who used a technique I had never seen before would be enough to pique your interest. Besides that, this person is one of the most trustworthy spies I have, if you can call a spy such a thing. They helped to protect _me_ from Sound shinobi, even though I could have handled it myself."

Naruto just sighed, and accepted what his sensei told him. In truth, he was happy that the man had found someone else to give him some training in his affinity. There was just something else bubbling under the surface that he had to get off his chest the moment he heard the man's voice. Everything else was going to have clouded judgment on his part until he cleared up a few things.

"Can you take these bandages off my eyes?"

"I don't know if that's a goo-"

"Just do it! If baa-chan starts yelling, I'll take the blame."

There were several moments of silence, and Naruto was getting ready to ask again before he heard the subtle shift of clothing as Jiraiya approached him. The aging shinobi carefully released several clasps holding his bandages in place.

"It looks like it's just one bandage that goes around the top of your head, including your nose. Is it still okay to take it off?"

Naruto grunted out a confirmation, and his sensei proceeded to slowly removed the bandages from around his head. Once they were finally removed, Naruto carefully opened his eyes. He was preparing himself in case his eyes needed to adjust to the light, but it was apparently in the middle of the night, since there was no light outside. There were a couple soft lights on in his hospital room, and the dull glow of some medical machinery. Otherwise, the overall amount of light in the room was rather low.

He turned his head to look at Jiraiya. The man was currently looking on the small table next to Naruto's bed with something akin to sadness and regret. Moving his own glance to the table, and grimacing as his neck protested against the movement, he saw that his father's special kunai was currently sitting on the table... with his recently removed bandages right next to it.

"Did you know my father?"

The timing of the question couldn't have been more perfect. Naruto saw the man looking at the kunai, and knew what his memories must have been like at that exact moment. Right after he tossed that question at Jiraiya, the man stuttered incomprehensibly for a moment, followed by his face adopting a resigned look at he realized there was no way to back out of the situation he had inadvertently stumbled into. So instead of replying right away - he sighed, grabbed a chair, and sort of... fell over into it.

"Yes, I knew your father."

Naruto's anger was rising rapidly.

"So why didn't you say anything before!? You lied to my face, and you weren't the only one!"

Jiraiya looked pained, and appeared to be reluctant to speak. "It was done... in part... because it was your father's last request... but..."

Before Jiraiya could finish, Naruto started shouting.

"My father's... last request?!" Naruto's eyes had taken on a somewhat of a crazy look, and he was smiling unnaturally, something that did not look good on his face. "That... that... _fucking bastard_!"

Jiraiya visibly flinched and drew back at that assessment, and tried to interject on Naruto's rant, but the boy wasn't about to be stopped. He was also slightly thankful that the boy was restrained, even though he looked like he was still in pain his muscles were taut and he was obviously struggling with the restraints in his rage.

"What kind of parent... would do that to their child? Who would take their child, seal a demon into them, and leave them... all alone... for twelve years... I was all alone..."

Naruto was making a noise as he kept talking, which sounded like something between a mad laugh and a sob. Tears started steadily falling from his eyes.

"When I first found out, I thought I understood. I was proud of my father... he had a hard choice to make, but did what he thought what was best. He couldn't ask someone else to have a demon sealed in their child. I was just happy and relieved that I finally had an answer to a question I'd had for so long."

Naruto turned his gaze back to Jiraiya, who was just letting the poor kid vent. He was trying not to show that every word was cutting him worse than any kunai ever could. "But then I thought, if he had used another newborn, at least that child still would have _had their fucking parents_!"

At that last declaration, the tears and sobs came freely, and Naruto looked away to the far side of the room as if in shame. His arms were still restrained, so he couldn't wipe his face, but the lines the tears made on his face were clearly visible even in the low light. "Is it wrong of me to wish that my father chose someone else? Or that he did something else and didn't have to resort to the sealing? Maybe even have someone else perform the sealing so that he would be around to care for the person... his child... that the demon was sealed in."

Naruto's voice was getting lower and lower as he spoke, until he finished. Silence reigned for another moment as Jiraiya sat listening to Naruto trying to choke back sobs. He then realized that Naruto was silent because he was waiting for answers.

"No, I don't think it's wrong of you to wish that... and he did do everything he could think of to stop the Kyuubi. You were his absolute last resort." Jiraiya looked out the window, briefly. "If he had gotten someone else to perform the sealing, what kind of Hokage would he be? Though it's fine to wish for something else to have happened, you and I both know he would have lost an incredible amount of respect had he chosen that path."

The Toad Sannin sighed, accessing memories he long ago tried to forget. "I knew your father for nearly twenty years. In that entire time, the only time I ever saw him struggle over a decision, or even cry - was the night he sealed the Kyuubi in you."

Jiraiya paused for a moment, knowing he should tell the boy something else since now was probably the best time. "If you're mad at him, you should probably be equally mad at me as well."

Naruto's head snapped back around quickly to stare at his sensei. The boy winced, he was obviously in pain, but his eyes were clear and sharp, catching Jiraiya in a piercing gaze. Taking a deep breath, Jiraiya continued.

"Shortly before you were born, I was talking with both of your parents. I was there for another reason, but sometime during the conversation you became the topic. They both agreed that should anything happen to them, I was to be your guardian."

Naruto's breath started hitching a bit, and Jiraiya started worrying for the boy's health. He still pressed on, wanting to get it all out, lest he regret it later.

"I want to truly apologize for not being there during those first 12 years. I was actually around for the first two, when you were in the care of the Uchiha..." Naruto's eyes went wide, but Jiraiya still pressed on, "...but shortly after you were placed in the orphanage, I got information on Orochimaru. He was like a brother to me, as I explained to you on our training trip before, so I wanted to go after him desperately. I know I was still a fool even then. But a dedicated fool, nonetheless."

"The Uchiha's promised me that they would keep an eye on you, and one of their best was assigned to look over you. I left, figuring you would be in good hands. After that, sensei kept sending me on missions... I suppose that may sound like an excuse, but I had no reason to believe the Uchiha wouldn't keep their word."

He paused once again in his story, examining the young man bound to the bed in front of him. He had stilled, but had his head hunched over. The sniffling had stopped as well... Jiraiya only knew he was awake by the occasional twitch of an arm whenever he said something he assumed the boy didn't really want to hear.

"I found out about the Uchiha massacre just under a year after it happened. Konoha had managed to keep quiet about what happened for a while - I only remember being in Kumo when I found out. I came back as fast as I could to make sure you were okay. Sensei assured me of your safety when I got back, and told me that he had assigned Hatake Kakashi and Uzuki Yuugao to watch over you. Accepting that, I checked in on you, and headed out once more. I was out of Konoha for another few years, and then... we met. Officially, anyway."

The room was met with silence yet again. Jiraiya finished his tale, and while he knew it probably didn't help the young man in front of him, it felt good for him to finally have it off his chest. Now all he had to do was prepare himself for the backlash that was likely to come as a result. He let the silence in the room linger, his eyes drifting back towards the kunai sitting on the table. According to what Tsunade told him, he would have to ask Naruto for clarification on-

"Please leave."

Jiraiya looked at Naruto. The boy still had his head bowed over, his messy hair was hanging over in such a way as to hide his eyes from view.

"I'm sorry?"

"Please leave." Naruto quickly spoke again after that, but his voice was softer. "I think I want to be alone for a little while, and I don't want you to be here in case I say something I might regret later."

"Naruto... I..." Jiraiya somehow knew there was nothing he could say other than 'I'm sorry', which just felt like a wasted gesture at this point. He didn't want to say anything that might damage their relationship further than it already was either.

"Very well." He stood up and slowly walked over towards the only door in the room. Looking around before he opened the door, he noticed that Naruto was placed in a private room this time, which he was glad for in retrospect. Taking one final glance over his shoulder at the boy he was supposed to be guardian of and a godfather to, he stepped out into the hallway.

Closing the door behind him, he noticed that the hallway seemed even darker than the room he was in. He knew that the hospital dimmed the lights in certain areas that weren't high traffic to save power, but this seemed a little extreme. Or maybe his eyes were just a little cloudy...

Absentmindedly, he wiped at one of his eyes, discovering it came away slightly damp. He was so busy staring at his wet fingers that he didn't notice the two people approach him.

"How did it go?"

Startled, Jiraiya turned to face the person who asked.

"Tsunade! I guess it went alright. Both better and worse than I was hoping."

Tsunade nodded slowly, and Jiraiya's attention finally focused on the person Tsunade was with. "Hello Sakura... I didn't know you would be here this late." He looked between both of them for a moment. "So how much did you hear?"

It was Sakura that answered. The girls face was ashen-colored, though that could have just been a trick of the light. She spoke softly though, which wasn't typical for her. "We got here just as you were talking about having him train under one of your agents."

It was Jiraiya's turn to nod. He looked at Tsunade, face in a grim line. "Will she...?"

Tsunade simply waved her hand. "She's my apprentice. She knows better. This is for Naruto to tell, and for him alone. No one else can claim to have that right."

The Toad Sannin nodded once again, turning to look back at the door to the room Naruto was in. Tsunade spoke to him again, voice softer than before.

"You look miserable. Maybe you should go take a load off at the hot springs, or something."

Turning back to look at Tsunade, he happened to notice that her apprentice was looking at her, eyes wide. He apparently knew better than her apprentice, this was one of Tsunade's moments where she exhibited a strange sense of humor. She was no better at cheering people up than he ever was.

Instead of of taking her up on the offer, he just snorted, one corner of his lips managing to come up in a wry grin. "Good suggestion, but I think I'm going to go get some sleep. Maybe when I wake up, Naruto will feel like talking to me again. I've been running on soldier pills for three days, so I'm spent."

"I've told you before, that's not healthy!" Tsunade's tone spared no room for argument.

"I know, I know." Jiraiya was too tired to argue anyway. "I wanted to get back here as soon as I could to tell him the news about his future training, and hopefully hear good news from him about his tests, so it was a worthwhile reason."

Tsunade just crossed her arms and gave Jiraiya a stern expression. "Get going before I decide to admit you into this hospital on the grounds of chakra depletion. Then they won't let you out of here for a week."

Running his hand back through his hair, Jiraiya just rolled his eyes at her. "I'm going, I'm going. Don't have to tell this old man twice." He started walking away, but stopped for a moment to look back. "A small parting word of advice... be careful what you say and do around Naruto for a little while. I have a feeling being around him is going to be difficult until he comes to grips with everything that's been going on recently."

Tsunade and Sakura watched as he turned and headed back down the hall, offering a small wave as he left. Once he disappeared around a corner, Tsunade turned to her apprentice.

"As he said, be careful what you say and do around the brat. He's pretty effectively had his world turned upside down and sideways in the past week. Be nice, and that means no hitting him when he says something stupid."

To Sakura's credit, she didn't flinch when her sensei was telling her this along with giving her a rather stern gaze. Tsunade mused that the girl must have already told herself the same thing. "I understand, shishou."

"Good. I'll go in first, see how he's doing. When I come out, you can go in, understand?"

Sakura nodded once, showing that she did.

"Fine. If you want to listen in, I don't mind. But if you respect Naruto, I would expect that you do not."

"Hai. I'll wait down at the end of the hall."

"Very well." Tsunade turned and grabbed at the door handle, wondering what lay in store for her when she talked to the young man.

* * *

As the door clicked closed behind Jiraiya, Naruto let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He had fully expected the man to stop before he left the room, and demand to talk to him some more about the situation.

Naruto had only asked him to leave because after seeing the haunted look on Jiraiya's face, he couldn't stand it anymore. He refused to meet the Sannin's face towards the end of his little spiel, and even after, when Jiraiya was attempting to apologize and give his reasoning for... not being there.

The teenager couldn't stay mad at Jiraiya no matter how hard he tried. In fact, Naruto hated to admit to himself that he probably would have done the same thing Jiraiya did. He was apparently placed into the care of the Uchiha when he was a newborn, so there was no real pressing reason for him to not leave and go looking for his missing friend. He would have to talk to the man later and forgive him... he had, after all, done his part so far in helping to continue his father's legacy.

Settling back against the bed once again, his mind gradually settling into acceptance on the topic. With that out of the way, his mind began to focus once more on the dull ache he still felt throughout his body. Cursing inwardly, he was mentally shouting at both his body and the fox - one for getting beat up, and the other for letting him remain that way.

**"Silence, Naruto."**

Shocked at hearing the unique drawl of a voice he now knew so well - only it was in his head - he jerked upward, just to be caught in the restraints and bite back a yelp as the muscles in his back protested every movement.

_"Kyuubi? Was that you?" _Naruto idly wondered if it was in fact the Kyuubi that he heard in his head. He had no idea that it was possible to-

**"Yes, you fool. I've always been able to hear your thoughts since I've been sealed within you. I'm only talking to you now because your incessant screaming at both your body and myself is becoming irritating."**

Crap. That meant the Kyuubi had been able to access all his dreams, hopes, fears... and all his past daydreams he had had about Sakur-

**"I do not care about your petty mortal feelings and desires. I just decided to tell you that you are subconsciously closing yourself off from my chakra through the seal. The amount flowing through your system has been getting smaller and smaller ever since you injured your precious pink-haired vixen. When the desire to use my chakra surfaces once again, the seal will allow my chakra to flow to a greater extent once more."**

Naruto stemmed the urge to retort at the way Sakura was described, so he simply gave the Kyuubi a mental nod... at least what he thought was a mental nod... and tried to somehow tell himself that he wanted to use the Kyuubi's chakra again. He thought he felt a very slight burning sensation over his stomach, where the visible seal was located, but he had no way of checking to see if the seal made itself visible. Before he could ponder it any more, however, the door to his room opened. Turning his head to look and see who it was, he was getting ready to tell Jiraiya that he still didn't want to see him yet, but Tsunade appeared instead, and he quickly swallowed that statement.

"Well, you're finally awake. You gave many of us quite a scare."

"Sorry baa-chan. I don't really know what happened."

Instead of saying anything else, she walked over to the bed and started undoing the restraints. She had apparently gotten a decent look at his tear-stained face as well, because as soon as she finished she handed him some tissues to clean up.

He decided to ask her a question that had been on his mind as he cleaned up. "So... why was I being restrained?"

"Well, while we were trying to stabilize you, which is something that we've never had to do before... you started going into convulsions. That is also something which has never happened to you before. Normally any serious damage you take is healed at a fairly rapid rate by the Kyuubi. Any idea why that wasn't happening?"

Naruto paused for a moment... he knew the answer, but was arguing with himself over how much he should say.

**"There is no point in hiding the truth of the matter."**

Eyes opening wide in surprise as the Kyuubi talked to him once again, he looked at Tsunade. She was still waiting for an answer, gazing at him with one eyebrow arched sky high.

"What? I'm waiting."

"Uhm... how to say this..." He paused for a moment, scratching at his chin. "Kyuubi talked to me."

"So what? I thought you've talked to it before?"

"This time was different. Kyuubi just... spoke to me in my head. Normally I have to... well... go there. Wherever there is."

Tsunade simply stared at Naruto, as if she wasn't sure how to process what Naruto was telling her. "So you're telling me that you're hearing voices in your head, now?"

Naruto gave the Hokage a blank look. "Something like that. Except this voice explained to me why I wasn't being healed."

At that comment, Tsunade perked up. "Oh really? What did this voice have to offer on the matter?"

"Apparently, I somehow subconsciously cut off the flow of the fox's chakra through my system, so it was nothing more than a trickle. All I had to do to turn it back on was the want to use Kyuubi's chakra again."

Tsunade appeared intrigued. "You never mentioned before that you were able to control the amount of Kyuubi's chakra you had running through your system."

Naruto shrugged, and looked slightly confused. "I'd never thought about it much in the past. Ever since I... hurt Sakura-chan several months ago when I released four tails, I've been keeping Kyuubi in check. I've been concentrating on using my chakra, and mine alone. According to Kyuubi, I was subconsciously manipulating the seal that keeps it contained, and gradually closing myself off from it's chakra. From what ero-sennin has mentioned in the past, and from what my father's scroll to me said... I can't cut the chakra off completely or I will die. But I can apparently cut it off to the extent where it is nothing more than a trickle... which is enough so that it can't heal me quickly anymore."

The Hokage was looking out the window as Naruto spoke, though whether she was looking at the illuminated buildings in Konoha or the night sky, Naruto couldn't tell.

"Well, I guess that also explains a bit as to why your arm took so much longer than normal to heal after using the Rasenshuriken."

Being reminded of that, Naruto just grunted in agreement, and looked at his right arm. It had been in a protective cast for almost two weeks, which was previously unheard of for someone like him. While the technique in its current form did cause a lot of backlash, he could remember healing from worse injuries in less time.

"How are you feeling now, though?"

Tsunade's quick question brought his attention back to her. She was looking at him with a sort of motherly concern that he appreciated more than she would ever know.

"I willed myself to use the Kyuubi's chakra again, if only briefly. I felt a slight burning sensation from the seal, and I'm already not as sore as I was five minutes ago."

"Does that mean you'd be willing to see one more visitor? As much as I'd like to stay, I need to get some sleep so I can get an early start on paperwork tomorrow. Since you're up, we'll probably commence the mission soon."

Naruto's brow furrowed, remembering about the mission he was supposed to go on, as well as trying to think of who else it could be that wanted to see him at this hour, other than Jiraiya and Tsunade. "Is it Shizune-neechan?"

"No. It's your teammate."

He was surprised, but in a grateful way. It must not have shown on his face, because Tsunade raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

"Do you not want to see her? I can send her home..."

Naruto was waving at Tsunade frantically before she even finished speaking. "No! No that's fine... it would be nice to talk to her. We haven't been able to talk much at all since I got back, and I don't think either of us will have time to talk much at all once we leave for this mission."

Giving him a small smile, Tsunade nodded as she opened the door. "Just be mindful of your mouth, you don't need her hitting you in your current state because you said something stupid."

Seeing the pout on his face before she left, she gave him a wink, then stepped halfway out the door before she turned back one more time. "Oh... and you are going to talk to Jiraiya again, right?"

The young blond stared at her, but did not give a hint as to his motive regarding his sensei. Not wanting to press the matter too much, she frowned. "I don't want to preach, not that you'd listen anyway, but at least try to forgive the old pervert. I can't claim to know what he did or didn't do... but he was there for you more than I ever was."

Tsunade bit her lip as she turned to leave again. The door closed with a light click, while Naruto sat and stared at the doorknob, musing over Tsunade's last words. He was upset with her too, but he had already vented to the pervert, and didn't have the energy or willpower to give the current Hokage some of his lingering ire.

Not really wanting to think about the aging pervert or the Godaime any more, he replaced thoughts of the old man and woman with thoughts about Sakura, wondering what caused her to be here at this hour. The clock that was on the wall showed it was almost four in the morning, so he couldn't help but be curious as to how long she had been in the hospital. Part of him was filled with elation that she was actually here because he was injured and she wanted to make sure he was okay, though another part of him was feeling guilty for the exact same reason - that he was injured and it was her responsibility as a good teammate to make sure he was alright.

The door clicked open once again, derailing his previous train of thought. He looked at her as she gave him a small smile, then turned around to close the door softly behind her. Once the door clicked closed she turned back around, and with another smile, greeted him. "Hi Naruto."

Naruto gave her a small smile in return. "Hey Sakura-chan. What brings you here?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm only here because of you. If I had my way, I wouldn't be back here at all until after we return from the big mission."

The blond gave a small chuckle, and averted his gaze. "Yeah, I'm pretty good at doing things and going places you don't like, huh?"

His teammate was walking over towards him slowly, but stopped abruptly at his latest quip. He looked up to meet her gaze, and it was met with a look of confusion and concern. "What's with this defeatist attitude of yours? The Naruto I know, who is my teammate, never lets anything get him down. Nor does he ever put _himself_ down. Thats my job."

Sakura tried to joke at the end of her speech and gave another quick smile, but Naruto frowned and looked away again, towards the window. There were a few heartbeats of silence before he answered. "The Naruto you knew never really existed." He sighed before continuing. "Okay, he did exist, but he was only part of the real me."

Sakura continued her slow trek towards the bed, pulled up a chair, and sat next to him. As she was sitting down she cast a quick glance at the small table that was next to her, with the kunai and unwrapped bandage sitting on it. "So who is the real Naruto, then?"

"I don't really know. I mean, this probably sounds ridiculous, but up until a few days ago I was perfectly happy the way I was. But now... so much is different." Naruto seemed to catch himself before he spoke any further, and turned a questioning gaze on his teammate. She met him with a questioning gaze of her own, unsure of why he stopped.

"Sakura-chan... how much has anyone told you about me? Things like my parents, my past..." He let the question drift off, letting her fill in the blanks on her own.

"Tsunade-shishou and I were coming to check on you when we heard you and Jiraiya-sama talking. It was rather loud at times, so I heard a lot. Tsunade-shishou filled in a few more gaps before I entered the room. In regards to your past, other than what Jiraiya-sama said a while ago or what you've already told me, I know nothing."

They sat in silence for at least a minute after that, the only sound to keep them company was the low hum of some medical equipment. Sakura's worry gradually increased over the minute, wondering if Naruto was upset with her because she heard something he didn't want her to know.

"I know nothing of my father, other than what's written in the history books. I know nothing of my mother, other than she was an occasional student of baa-chan. According to ero-sennin, I was raised by the Uchiha until I was two years old, whereupon I was placed in an orphanage. I don't know why. My earliest memories are of being whipped by the matron of the orphanage for doing the smallest thing wrong, until Sarutobi-san replaced her with another one who just ignored me."

Though she inwardly winced at the way Naruto now casually talked about the Sandaime, as he had obviously lost some degree of respect for the man, she involuntarily reached for and grabbed his hand when he started referring to the orphanage.

"Supposedly I was watched by a member of the Uchiha clan even while I was in the orphanage. I can't say I ever really remember seeing anyone watch me, which I guess meant he or she was doing their job. I never really had many problems, I was ignored by most people, sometimes folks would yell at me or spit at me... but I didn't understand why. I tried crying, as I had seen it work for some other kids when they were around adults, they always got attention. I never understood, but when I cried, the yelling got louder and some people even looked happy."

Naruto's hands had clenched into fists at this point, his grip was so powerful that Sakura's hand was starting to hurt. But she knew he needed to vent, and was happy to be the one who was there for him... so she tried to ignore the pain as best she could.

"There were a small handful of people who were good to me while I was young, but not much else happened in my life up until I entered the Academy. Even then I was mostly ignored by the other students. I made friends with the ones who liked my pranks, but that was about it. Shikamaru and Chouji were two of my first friends. Chouji was my friend mainly because I could eat as much as him, and Shikamaru seemed to like anyone who was able to befriend Chouji."

Naruto gave a light chuckle at the memory, and Sakura had a small smile on her lips that was filled with regret as she stared at her feet. She had already confirmed with herself that she would do everything she could to make up for the way she ignored Naruto during their Academy days. He definitely didn't deserve to be treated the way he was, least of all by her, since she had also been ma-

"I know what you're thinking, but it's not necessary."

Sakura's head sprang up and she looked at Naruto, surprise written all over her face. "Wh- What are you talking about?"

Naruto squeezed her hand, and she vaguely recalled grabbing his earlier. "You had a smile on your face that I know too well. You're probably thinking that you need to make up for all the time you knew me, but I wasn't your friend. In fact, you pretty much hated me."

Sakura didn't let go of his hand, but flinched and quickly looked away. She remembered Team Seven's first meeting on the roof of the Academy. "Of all the things I've said and done in my life, I think I regret what I said during our first team meeting the most."

"That you hated me?"

"Yes."

"Well, apology accepted. So don't worry about it."

Sakura looked at him yet again, eyes wide. "But I didn't even say sorry..."

Her teammate waved her off with his free hand. "You said you regretted it, which to me counts as an apology. Like I said, don't worry about it." He gave her a mischievous little grin. "Besides, you were talking while you were under the influence of the awesome Uchiha aura."

Sakura just gave him a blank look. The staring contest lasted for all of about fifteen seconds, before Naruto started to break down into mild bouts of laughter.

"I really should hit you for that one."

Naruto's laughter slowly settled down, and after a couple gasps for air, he gave her a big smile. "Well, as much as it might pain you to realize it now, it was true at the time."

Sakura ground her teeth. "Yet another thing I'll regret until the day I die."

At this, Naruto's eyebrows shot sky high. "Are you... whoa. Did you just bash the teme?"

It was Sakura's turn to have her eyebrows skyrocket. "You know, I guess I did, indirectly. Felt pretty good, too."

Now Naruto was falling into confusion more than anything else. He quickly turned away, so Sakura wouldn't have to see the conflicted look on his face. He felt her squeeze his hand as she asked a question.

"What's wrong? Don't clam up on me now."

Naruto turned slightly, but still wasn't completely facing her. "I thought..." He sighed, trying to figure out how he wanted to phrase his words without upsetting the girl enough to send him into a coma. "I always thought you, well... liked Sasuke."

When several seconds passed and he received no response, he slowly turned to look at his teammate. She was giving him a blank look, her mouth slightly open, looking like she wanted to say something, but not sure how exactly to say it.

"I... uhm..." She took several deep breaths, then looked Naruto in the eye. "I do like Sasuke."

Up to that point, Naruto had been doing pretty good, all things considered. But the moment he heard Sakura say those words, he felt what was left of his world start to shatter and fall to the ground around him.

"But then, I like you too, Naruto."

Naruto's world stopped shattering, but instead it was like time had stopped. The pieces that had shattered and were falling had stopped in mid air around him, as if every part of his world was just completely dumbfounded with what the girl he cared so much about had said, and was waiting to see the action he decided to take.

Naruto himself was gaping like a fish out of the water, his mind long ago gave up trying to comprehend anything else that anyone decided to tell him.

Sakura reached up with her free hand, placed it on Naruto's chin, and gently pushed his mouth closed. "I'm sure you're confused. I was too at first. But then Ino helped me figure it out, even if it wasn't her real intention."

Naruto was just getting more and more confused, but figured the best thing to do at this point was to shut up and let her explain.

"As I said before, I like Sasuke. But I think it is in much the same way you do. I feel like Sasuke is the brother I never had. When I was younger, I honestly made myself feel like I was in love with him. But like Ino had felt with you, it was really nothing more than admiration." Sakura sighed to herself, and Naruto looked like he was finally able to comprehend where she was coming from. He squeezed her hand in reassurance, which she reciprocated before talking again. "I admired how he was good at nearly everything he applied himself to. I can look back and laugh now, but back then, I honestly thought he was the best thing there ever was, and ever would be. Besides that... being rivals with the other girls felt good. I felt like I was important."

"I felt the same way when Sasuke declared I was his rival."

"I remember seeing how happy you both were. I didn't understand it then, but I do now."

Naruto chuckled a little, then gazed at Sakura with clear blue eyes. "So if you like Sasuke as a brother figure, where does that leave me?"

Sakura's face took on a distinctly reddish hue, which Naruto could see clearly even in the poor light. "I just like you. Thats all."

Naruto frowned, which worried Sakura. "I thought we were best friends? Doesn't that mean you'd like me anyway?"

Sakura nodded, and was shifting from side to side in her seat. She brought her free hand up to where her other hand was currently holding one of Naruto's, and started tapping his knuckles with her fingers as she talked. "You are my best friend, and yes, I've liked you as a teammate for a while. But... uhm... I really like you. A lot."

Now it was Naruto's turn for his face to take on that distinct reddish hue. "Oh."

Sakura was idly murmuring confirmation, her fingertips now tracing the knuckles on Naruto's hand. She had expected Naruto to be bouncing around, claiming that his 'Sakura-chan' finally admitted to liking him. While she had prepared herself for that outburst, she had to admit that she was pleasantly surprised that it didn't turn out that way. Naruto was taking it in a much more mature way than she expected.

"So you think I'm hot, huh?"

Scratch that thought.

"Baka! Of course that me-" She quickly covered her mouth with her free hand, eyes wide. She tried to pull her hand out of Naruto's, but he held fast. His eyes held a mysterious twinkle in them that she couldn't really ever remember seeing before.

"I'm just kidding, Sakura-chan. Though I should probably tell you that I like you too, so you don't feel as though it's one-sided."

Sakura removed her hand from her mouth, and just snorted at that comment. "At the rate you were always professing your love for me, I hardly think that..." She trailed off, as if realizing something. Her expression showed it too, as it went from being rather cheerful, to suddenly being downcast. Naruto was clearly worried at the sudden change, he gripped her hand tighter and stared at her with worry.

"Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

"I..." She refused to look at Naruto, and seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "I just realized... I haven't heard you shouting that you loved, or even liked me... for a while now. You used to do it all the time, and I was getting worried that I took too long to tell you how I felt."

"I stopped because I thought it was making you upset."

"It never, ever really upset me. I appreciated the attention... but as bad as it sounds, I still had to keep up appearances. Because of my rivals. I just couldn't tell you that." Sakura's voice dropped down so low, Naruto had to strain to hear her. "Oh Kami... I really was such a shallow little girl."

"I was an immature little boy, so what?!" Naruto spoke up loud enough to startle his teammate. "I think you've grown up faster than I have, it wasn't until these past few days that I've finally taken a really good look at what I've done in the past, and what I need to do in the future. You figured out what you were missing a while ago, from the sound of it."

Sakura just squeezed his hand once again, and gave another smile. "Thank you, Naruto."

Several minutes passed with a pleasant silence between them, they were both staring out the window into the night lights of Konoha. Naruto took a moment to reflect on just how much had changed within the short span of a week. He found out more about his past, quite a lot about his father, some small amount about his mother... and then he even managed to grab Sakura-chan's attention by some stroke of luck. Finally. He just hoped it wasn't out of pity. But she didn't seem like that kind of girl. Not anymore, at least. Then there was the future to consider...

"It's not going to be easy, you know."

Sakura jumped in her chair a little, obviously not expecting Naruto to speak, and apparently lost in her own thoughts. "What do you mean?"

"The mission. Us."

"I know. According to the briefing, it's going to take years. Who knows what we're going to encounter. But what do you mean by us?"

"We're not going to have any free time. Assuming you want us to... do stuff."

Both teens were obviously blushing once again at this point.

Sakura found she was extremely unable and unwilling to meet Naruto's gaze. She knew she wasn't a pervert, but she was still human and had needs and desires just like all other humans. "I know. But no one said we can't try to make things work."

"You're right, we can definitely try. But I was just warning you it wasn't going to be easy."

She squeezed his hand, as if trying to reaffirm a commitment. "You know, with this new Naruto you've been so kind to introduce me to, I think everything will be fine."

Naruto finally met her gaze, he was openly curious by what she was implying. "I've changed that much?"

Nodding the affirmative, she couldn't help but chuckle. "At least I know there's some of the old Naruto still in there. You're much more mature than I've ever seen you before, but you're still quite oblivious at the same time if you can't tell that you've changed."

"Ah, sorry." Naruto scratched at the back of his head, giving her a sly little grin. "I'm trying out this little thing called humility too."

This was the Naruto she remembered. Her right eye started twitching a little. "Baka. You're not humble if you're actually claiming to be humble."

Naruto knew it was unwise to continue making snarky comments, so he just chuckled and shrugged. "By the way, what's the status with the mission anyway. Weren't we supposed to have left by now?"

Sakura seemed a bit shaken by the sudden change of topics, but immediately rebounded. "Tsunade-shishou said she would just delay the departure a few days. We can't start if our leader isn't ready, after all."

Naruto just nodded, and leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling. "You know, I'm a little scared."

"Why?"

Naruto sighed. "I've never been responsible for people before. At least not this many."

Sakura smiled, more to herself since she knew Naruto wasn't looking at her. "It's a tiny amount of people, compared to becoming Hokage of Konoha."

Naruto grimaced, but quickly removed it and hoped Sakura didn't notice. "Yeah. Now that I actually have time to sit back and think about it, it does seem rather daunting."

Adjusting her grip on Naruto's hand, she rubbed his knuckles with her thumb. "It's amazing how things change when your dreams come closer to reality, isn't it?"

The teenage boy nodded, then turned his head to look at Sakura again. She was staring at him intently. "What are your dreams, Sakura-chan?"

"My dreams?" She looked startled at first, then her expression became more contemplative. "I haven't been asked that in a long time. But I would say I have two dreams. The first one is to become a medic even stronger and more well known than Tsunade-shishou."

Naruto gave her a smile. "Thats a good dream to have. What about the other?"

The girl blushed. "I've already partially accomplished it, actually. It was my dream to get to know you better."

Naruto was totally stunned. He really didn't know what to say in response to that, and he didn't want to muck it up, so he kept his mouth shut. Mostly shut, anyway. He gave her the biggest smile he had ever given anyone in a long time.

Suddenly, Sakura's hand jerked from his grip. He was surprised, but noticed that she started digging through a pack that she had attached to her belt. It looked like it had some medical supplies in it, so he just assumed it was a medical pouch like most doctors and nurses seemed to keep with them. She stopped digging and pulled out something round that was attached to a chain. She examined it for a second, and then put it back in her pack.

"It's almost been an hour, Naruto. You should get some more sleep and be fully rested, especially in case Tsunade-shishou decides to send us out and start the mission later today."

Naruto nodded to her, and she started to get up.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Yes?"

"I passed The Gauntlet test, right?"

"Tsunade-shishou hasn't spoken about it, but I believe you did, yes."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, giving her an innocent expression. "Didn't you say I'd get a surprise if I passed?

The corners of Sakura's lips curled up into a grin. "Are you sure you want it now? You might want to wait until you're out of the hospital, as it could be dangerous if you aren't prepared."

He just looked at her in confusion. Why would any good surprise be dangerous? "I'm sure I can handle whatever it is you throw at me."

One of her eyebrows arched. "Are you sure?"

He shrugged from his bed. "Yeah, why not?" The crooked grin he sent her way did nothing to assuage the current feeling of dread he got in his stomach at the sight of her predatory smile.

"Well, if you say so."

In two steps, she was directly at the side of his bed.

What occurred over the next fifteen to twenty seconds left Naruto's mind a muddled mess. He remembered seeing her face get closer to his, seeing her eyes close, and then feeling something soft press against his lips.

By the time his mind finally registered what was going on and he tried to respond, she suddenly pulled away, with a small smirk on her face.

"Sakura-ch-"

A finger on his lips cut off anything he was about to say.

"Shush. Get some rest. We can talk more after you wake up and are able to get out of here. I'll be waiting."

With that, she left the room before his addled brain finished processing what she told him. When it finally did, he felt that the moment she kissed him was worth every trial and tribulation he had been through up to that point.

**"Simpleton."**

Shaking a mental fist at the Kyuubi, Naruto managed to drag himself off to sleep. Tomorrow, he'd have to bring the all-new Naruto out to stay.

* * *

**Edited:** January 27th, 2010

Up Next: Departure


	10. Departure

Chapter 10

Naruto stood in front of one of the many doors within the hotel, trying to keep himself calm and wondering what to say. He had come here because this is where Jiraiya always lodged when he was in town - probably due to it's proximity to the most populated spa in Konoha.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked once on the door. Shifting his weight to one side, he relaxed his left leg and put most of his weight on his right foot. Ever since he had run the Gauntlet, the favoring of his right foot over his left was happening on a subconscious level. He realized it was a bad habit to have, and made a conscious effort to correct himself, shifting most of his weight back onto his left side. The foot itself was fine now, but for some reason the memory of stepping on that lightning tag always made his foot tingle.

Naruto knocked again, louder this time. The receptionist had informed him that Jiraiya had in fact booked this room for one night stay, so that meant the man would be leaving again after today. To where, Naruto had no idea, so he figured he should probably clear the air with his... 'guardian' before the pervert disappeared again.

Unfortunately, the white haired man wasn't answering his door so Naruto contemplated trying again later. He found a part of himself becoming slightly agitated at Jiraiya's absence. If the man wasn't answering his door, that could only mean Jiraiya had either gotten an early start on his research since he was only going to be around for a day, or he had been running himself ragged and was passed out sleeping.

The other part of him was slightly relieved, as he was still trying to figure out exactly what it was that he wanted to tell the Toad Sennin in the first place. Naruto had forgiven the man, certainly. But just saying sorry seemed to be rather insignificant in comparison to all the things that actually needed to be said between them.

He turned and started walking away from the door, only to see another door at the end of the hallway - where the stairs were - opened up. The person Naruto was both trying to find and avoid stepped through. Naruto stopped in his tracks, trying to think of some kind of greeting, but for some reason his mouth refused to open. The Toad Sennin hadn't noticed Naruto yet, as the man had been looking at the ground in front of him as he was walking. As soon as he had passed the threshold of the doorway, he had crossed one arm over his chest while his other was rubbing his chin, which usually meant he was deep in thought about something.

Naruto continued to stand there, words refusing to come forth, but it didn't matter since the white haired man eventually looked up to see how far down the hallway he was. He was still several doors away from where he needed to be, but that didn't stop him from spotting his godson, who was the only other person around. Naruto had a hard time trying to interpret the exact kind of facial expression the man had when he spotted the teen, but the grim smile that settled on his face as he slowed his approach spoke volumes.

"Gaki." It was both a statement and greeting. Jiraiya nodded as he said it, and Naruto realized he was going to have to be the one to break the wall down between them. He was the one who put it up, after all.

"Hey there... Jiraiya-jiisan." Though Jiraiya had slowed his walk as he approached, now he was completely stopped. He looked at Naruto with wide eyes for a moment, before his grim smile turned into a more genuine one.

"Does this mean I've been forgiven?"

Naruto was contemplative, asking himself the very same question. "For the most part, yes. But I do still have some questions..."

Jiraiya held up a hand, forestalling Naruto's reply. "Before you start grilling me, understand that there may be some questions I really don't have the answer to."

Naruto nodded. "That's fine, if you honestly don't know." Naruto let the sentence linger for a moment before he pressed on. "I don't have a lot of questions anyway, but the ones I do have are mostly about this." As he finished talking, he slowly pulled a kunai from his leg pouch. Jiraiya's eyes lit up with recognition immediately.

"I was wondering why that was in your hospital room last night. Tsunade filled me in on the full details just a moment ago." He walked past Naruto towards the door to his room. "Come on in, take a seat, and we'll talk."

Naruto nodded and followed Jiraiya into the room. The room itself was rather sparse, but it had all the necessities, which was understandable for a hotel room. There was a single bed, a small table with two chairs, and a small kitchen area for preparing meals, but no big items such as a refrigerator. Naruto grabbed a seat and set the kunai on the table, sliding it over to where Jiraiya was going to sit.

The Sannin stared at the three pronged kunai for a moment after he sat down, then reached for it. "So where did you come across this? I thought sensei had taken them all and locked them away."

Hearing the man tell him that the Sandaime locked them all away made him wonder if he would get Inoichi in trouble for keeping his. But since he wanted the truth from Jiraiya about certain things, Naruto figured he should tell the truth as well. He was arguing with himself for a moment longer than he thought, because when he finally made his decision, Jiraiya was staring at him intently.

"If you don't want to tell me, I unde-"

Naruto cut him off. "No, it's fine. I don't want him to get in trouble, but Yamanaka Inoichi gave it to me."

"Inoichi, huh?" Jiraiya's brow scrunched up in thought as he examined the small weapon. "I do know that the Ino-Shika-Cho group were out of Konoha a lot after the Kyuubi attack to examine the damages in Fire Country, so he probably wasn't around when sensei issued the proclamation to have them turned in. I think that would suffice for any excuse needed. Since sensei has passed on, however, I doubt anyone would really care now."

Naruto nodded, appreciative of the fact that there was a way around the question should it ever come up.

"Now... Tsunade tells me that you actually managed to perform Hiraishin. Care to explain how you managed to pull that off?"

Naruto's eyes went wide in surprise, but then he frowned. "I did Hiraishin?"

Jiraiya gave Naruto a curious look. "Well, lets go backwards first, then move forward from there. What's the last thing you remember before you went into the hospital?"

Pausing for a moment, Naruto looked out the window. What did he remember?

"I remember messing up around the end of the Gauntlet, and Kakashi-sensei was going to make me pay for it. He threw a kunai at a tag that would set off other traps in the area. I tried to throw a kunai to intercept his, but missed."

Jiraiya held up the Yondaime's old weapon. "So you threw this one?"

Naruto shrugged. "I was in a hurry, and just grabbed the first one I could get from my pouch. I was a little surprised that I had managed to grab that particular one, but I didn't really notice until after it had already been thrown."

"But apparently you missed, since Tsunade said that the weapon became lodged into the ground at the finish line seconds before you appeared."

"So that's what happened..." Naruto had a speculative look, as if he was going over past events in his mind. "I remember it missed Kakashi-sensei's kunai; my hands had too much blood on them, so it slipped out of my hand toward the end of the throw and wasn't on target. After it missed I was only thinking about somehow getting away from the traps, but then my foot gave out on me because of a lightning trap I had set off earlier."

"Wasn't the Kyuubi taking care of your injuries?"

Naruto frowned. "It was... but not as fast as normal. It's complicated, but apparently I have more control over the seal than I thought. I can explain that in more detail later, though Kyuubi's chakra is healing me just like it used to once again.

Jiraiya nodded, but still appeared concerned. He filed it away in his mind as a question for another time.

"Anyway, my foot gave out on me when I tried to jump, so I ended up tripping instead. I fell forward, and I was so tired and drained that I didn't think to use chakra to stick to the branch. Then as I was falling, parts of my body felt like they were being pulled away against my will. I was going to be hit with a fireball if I didn't move, so I let the pull take me. Next thing I know, I'm standing in front of baa-chan and the others. I don't remember anything after that, so I guess I fainted."

"She said you fainted shortly after you arrived. Not only that, but that there were big cuts all over your body and large bruises forming right in front of her eyes, which meant massive internal bleeding. She had never seen anything like it." Jiraiya shook his head, setting the kunai down on the table. "You're lucky she was there, as well as Shizune and your girlfriend."

Naruto was frowning the whole time, staring at his open hands. However, his head shot up and he focused on Jiraiya when the man referred to Sakura. "Wha- Who said anything about me having a girlfriend?"

Jiraiya smiled and leered at him. "Tsunade-hime told me. Apparently she had just finished asking your girlfriend about it, because I saw Sakura walking out of Tsunade's office and her face was almost the same color as her hair. Besides, it's been a while since I've seen a smile that big on Tsunade's face, so I had to ask."

Naruto grumbled, he had wanted to be the one to tell both Jiraiya and Tsunade... but then figured that Sakura had more of a right to tell Tsunade. Sakura had trained under the Hokage for two years, who might as well have be a second mother to the girl. It was just his bad luck that Jiraiya was around right after Tsunade found out.

Jiraiya had noticed Naruto was upset. "If it makes you feel any better, I had to threaten her with some... pictures... before she agreed to tell me."

Naruto just slapped his forehead and sighed. "Blackmail. It figures."

Jiraiya just chuckled, and figured he should get the conversation back on course.

"Regarding Hiraishin, I have an idea as to what may have happened, but we'll have to check later to see if I'm right."

Naruto went from looking exasperated to excited in a split second.

"Do you think I'll be able to use it?"

Jiraiya frowned. "Hard to say. I don't know how Hiraishin works, your father said he didn't want anyone other than his family members knowing it. The only other person who may have an idea would be your mother... but no one knows if she's even still alive."

Naruto frowned and nodded his head. "Do you think we can at least figure out how it worked?"

"I have my own ideas." Jiraiya pointed at the blood-covered seal on the handle. The blood had long since dried and was now a dark brown. It looked more like dirt than blood. "You got quite a bit of blood on the seal. Your father probably attuned the seal to his own blood, which is why he was the only one able to use these kunai to do his technique."

Naruto was staring hard at the kunai, contemplating the Toad Sennin's words. "So you're saying... that by getting my blood on the seal, it recognized my father's blood in me and allowed me to use it?"

Jiraiya smiled. "Your father was a genius, and it looks like you're finally starting to follow in his footsteps."

"Uh... thanks." Naruto looked away and blushed ever so slightly. After so many years of not receiving any kind of compliment, he still felt a little awkward when he did get one.

"So the seal recognized your fathers blood in you, and let you use the technique. You didn't use any hand seals when you used it though, did you?"

Naruto slowly shook his head negatively, with a frown. "I didn't even know what was happening."

Jiraiya just nodded, as if confirming a theory in his mind. "Your father used hand seals before he used the technique. His main element was lightning, so I think I've finally been able to confirm where the 'Yellow Flash' comes from. It wasn't just his hair, like everyone wanted to believe. Rather ingenious for him to mask his technique that way..."

Jiraiya rambled on, more mumbling to himself than actually talking to Naruto. It wasn't until the teen cleared his throat that Jiraiya remembered he was there.

"Oh, sorry. I was just confirming to myself that Minato used his lightning element to sort of... buffer... his technique."

Naruto looked confused, and it didn't appear as if he was going to come up with an answer on his own this time.

"Let's go back once again before we continue. It will make all this easier to understand. Tell me, do you know why whenever lightning flashes in the sky that you hear thunder afterward?"

Naruto leaned back in his chair for a second, obviously trying to go through the things he actually did learn in the Academy.

"All I remember is that it had something to do with electricity and heat..."

Comprehension dawned on Naruto's face right after he spoke. He stopped talking and looking at Jiraiya, mentally asking if he guessed correctly. Jiraiya smiled at him.

"Your father let the lightning travel in front of him as he was pulled to the seal, it made the air in front of him expand. His body followed right behind the lightning, through the expanded air. This greatly reduced the amount of resistance that was placed on his body as he traveled near instantaneously between the seals. However, while the lightning did heat up the air around him enough to make it expand and reduce resistance, the technique wasn't completely silent. Any type of air expansion that happens that fast will cause noise. That's why there was usually a distinct popping noise when he arrived at his destination."

Naruto frowned as he remembered the pain he was in when he awoke in the hospital. But he simply shrugged it off as another thought entered his mind, which caused him to chuckle. "I guess that's why he called it the **Flying Thunder God **technique. He was supposed to take the place of the thunder."

Jiraiya sat there baffled for a second. Then it was his turn to realize something. "You know, you're right. I never really thought about the name that much. I know Kumo has a technique of their own that uses the same name, but it makes a lot of noise, so it's understandable how it got its name."

Jiraiya smiled at Naruto again. "You're finally beginning to show his traits."

Naruto looked away again, though he wasn't sure if he should take that as a comment or just at face value. "Is it possible for you to... explain what you mean by that, now?"

Jiraiya sighed, and grabbed the kunai in his hand once more. He frowned while he looked at it, carefully running his fingers over the blade. Naruto was about to tell him never mind, but Jiraiya spoke before he could.

"It is said that there is one person every generation who is better than any other ninja who had come from the generation before. Minato was the ultimate ninja of his generation. I can say without a bit of doubt that he was a true master in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and fuuinjutsu. His genjutsu wasn't particularly strong, but any weakness in that field could be filled in by strengths in fuuinjutsu."

Jiraiya stared at Naruto with a steady gaze. "Now, I know you have some friends who refer to themselves or have been referred to as extremely hard working. I know the same goes for friends of mine, or past friends, who are referred to as geniuses."

"Yeah... Fuzzy-brows, Neji, and... Sasuke-teme."

Jiraiya grinned a little at the pet names for two of them. "Well, take what you know about a hard worker, and a genius... and combine them. That was Namikaze Minato. A hardworking genius."

Naruto blinked owlishly for several seconds, before he let out a noise that was a mix between a sigh and a grunt. "Well, at least I inherited the hard working part."

"We've seen quick glimpses of his genius, too. You just showed me a little bit not too long ago."

Naruto ran his hand back through his hair. "Yeah. It's strange. Ever since I went on that scouting mission almost a week ago, and since I've learned about my parents... I feel like I'm able to understand things a lot better."

Jiraiya shook his head, but smiled. "Remember when we were walking home from our vacation..."

"I don't see how you can call that a vacation."

Jiraiya continued on, without missing a beat, "...and I thought you were being a moody little brat, but you told me you were working on that little thing called maturity?"

Naruto grimaced. "Yeah. I remember."

Jiraiya just chuckled. "Well, there's a little thing that goes with maturity, most of the time we call it patience. When you use those two things together, and actually think things through before acting, you'll find yourself coming to understand things a lot better than you ever could before. But maturity alone is a great thing, patience is just a bonus."

Jiraiya stood up as Naruto was mulling over his words. He gave the boy a hard pat on the shoulder as he walked past. "But you need to be mature for the things you're going to be dealing with soon anyway. While your loudmouthed self reminds me a lot of your mother, if you have people's lives in your hands, you can't act like that."

"My mother... was loud?"

Even though Naruto couldn't see Jiraiya's face, he could hear the grin in the man's voice. He was currently hunched over a sack that was sitting on the bed, digging through it. "Boy was she. You could hear her from a mile away. Was quite the tomboy, if I've ever seen one. At first, your parents couldn't stand each other. But then after a while, she began to grow on him. Supposedly it was a special power of hers, that she could get anyone to like her. A power which I think you inherited."

The sennin turned around as he finished talking, and headed back towards the table. Naruto was still listening if the man decided to keep talking, but he had grabbed the kunai and was examining what he could see of the seal that wasn't covered in blood.

"Look interesting?"

Naruto shrugged as Jiraiya walked past. "I don't understand what it does, even if it looks cool. Kind of like the seal on my stomach."

"Or even an explosive tag?"

Naruto shrugged once again. "Can't say I've ever really looked at one closely."

"That doesn't surprise me. Here."

Naruto's gaze went back to the table as Jiraiya slid a book over to him. The cover was a bit faded and the spine looked a little bent out of shape, but otherwise it was in decent condition. He set the kunai down, and picked up the book. Gazing carefully at it, but not yet opening it, he noticed that it appeared as though it had suffered from some water damage too.

"What is this, some of your vintage smut?"

Jiraiya just frowned, which led Naruto to believe that whatever it was, it was rather important.

"Hardly. They're notes I had been taking for years on fuuinjutsu. The Academy only teaches the basics, because seals are a very esoteric and ambiguous field. You can do almost anything you can think of with seals. The trade off is generally that massive amounts of chakra is required, not to mention the frustration when a seal doesn't work the way you want or expect it to."

Naruto stared at Jiraiya, frowning. He had a hard time believing that. "Can you really do anything at all with them?"

"You should understand that better than almost anyone."

Naruto's frown deepened. "Why would I? I don't get it."

Jiraiya fixed Naruto with an impassive stare, and spoke in monotone. "The Kyuubi no Kitsune is largest and most powerful of the bijuu, which themselves are literally nothing more than giant masses of chakra with self-awareness. Under normal conditions for a sealing, you need enough people to pump out an equal amount of chakra to meet the bijuu's amount, while one person maintains the focus needed to perform the sealing ritual. We didn't have nearly enough people with the amount of chakra we'd need to seal away the Kyuubi. There are rare shinobi with the ability to suppress a bijuu's chakra, like the Shodai Hokage, but those people are extremely rare, and Konoha had none."

The white-haired man's expression was dour. "There was only one other way to get the amount of chakra - or power, really - needed to seal away Kyuubi."

Naruto gave the answer, but it was barely more than a whisper. "The Shinigami."

Jiraiya nodded with a grim smile on his face. "Nothing in the world is more powerful than death itself, other than perhaps Kami... but no one has been able to call on Kami and receive visible results so far. The Shinigami has appeared in the past, however, and your father managed to prove that it was possible to call on it. A little known fact is that no one has been able to call on the Shinigami's powers without giving something in return. With the use of the Shiki Fuujin, your father offered the highest sacrifice than any human could - his own life and afterlife. It was the only way to really guarantee that the Shinigami would appear."

Naruto was still staring at the book as Jiraiya was talking to him. He knew the man had stopped talking, but was still trying to absorb everything that he was just told. It was definitely a lot more detailed than anything they tried to teach in the Academy. Not only that, but the Academy had definitely stretched the truth in regards to the Kyuubi and exactly how it was defeated.

"You should take a look inside."

The blond bit his bottom lip, and set the book on the table. He gently grabbed the top cover, and slowly opened the book. The first page was blank, but upon turning the page, he noticed that all too familiar scrawl of the man sitting across from him.

"A primer on the study of Fuuinjutsu..."

Jiraiya nodded. "Like I said, those are my notes on seals, from the basics all the way up to complex container scrolls and beyond. Now... flip towards the back of the book... you'll notice the handwriting change."

Naruto did as he was instructed, and immediately noticed a set of handwriting that was much, much neater. He looked up at Jiraiya, waiting for an explanation.

"I started taking notes when I became a jounin. Orochimaru helped me add information to the book for a little while, but after a time he started concentrating more on ninjutsu than fuuinjutsu."

The teen frowned when his sensei mentioned the pale-faced member of the Sannin. "I guess he didn't appreciate the things which didn't show how powerful he was, huh?"

Jiraiya grinned, but it didn't look like a cheerful one. He leaned back in his chair, letting his head tilt forward while closing his eyes. "Orochimaru was always interested in anything that would make him stronger, but fuuinjutsu took a lot of work and testing... while ninjutsu's results are generally immediate and highly visible. There is no doubt that fuuinjutsu is the strongest form of jutsu when applied properly, and that was apparent even to him. But Orochimaru was never known for his patience, and that is one thing seals require a lot of. The Heaven Seal is apparently the culmination of a project he worked on for years with his associate Kabuto... and it only took me a month to figure out how to contain its worst effects. However, I haven't really had the time to look into finding ways to remove it, yet."

The Toad Sennin lifted his head and opened his eyes. This time he did smile. "But I do have patience, and I continued my journal and my notes. I eventually became the first Seal Master that Konoha ever had."

Naruto looked skeptical. "You have patience?"

Jiraiya scoffed. "Sometimes I have to wait for hours for appropriate material to arrive for me to conduct my research. Not only that, but I trained you, didn't I?"

The boy just pouted and crossed his arms, then slouched down in his seat. The grin returned to Jiraiya's face.

"Anyway, back to the journal. Your father expressed interest in fuuinjutsu when he was a Genin... he was always asking me how an explosive tag worked, and things like that. So I began teaching him basic fuuinjutsu on the side. He was a natural."

Naruto sat back up again, and was slowly turning pages and scanning their contents.

"Once your father became a Jounin and got his own Genin team, I decided to pass along my notes. That is his handwriting. He took many of my ideas and seals and expanded upon them. It was incredible. Thus, he became the second Seal Master of Konoha."

Naruto was still flipping through the pages, understanding nothing. "Have there been any others since?"

Jiraiya frowned. "Seal Masters? None that I know of. Sure, there are a lot of folks who know the basics... that's where you would get your explosive tags and such from. There are others, like Kakashi, who have modified some seals to suit their own purposes, but he's too lazy to get into the intricacies of the art."

The young jounin sighed, then gently closed the book. "So by giving me this, are you trying to tell me to become the next Seal Master?"

Jiraiya laughed outright, startling Naruto. "Ah, blunt as always. I'm not telling you to, this is just an offer. The book is yours just as much as it is mine. I gave it to your father, and I'm sure he would have given it to you. It's not easy at all, but you'll end up saving a lot of money that you would normally spend on traps, tags, and scrolls if you can make them yourself. If you learn enough, you may even be able to get this to work for you one day." Jiraiya tapped the kunai that was still resting on the table.

Naruto nodded, then slowly stood up and stretched. He grabbed the book after he was done, gave it a once over, then shrugged. "Eh, why not?"

The sennin stood up as well, smiling all the while. "If you have any questions, save them for when I visit and I'll see if I can answer them."

Naruto grinned back, but the grin gradually faded to a more somber expression.

"What's wrong?"

Naruto looked around the room absently, while his hand rested on the back of the chair he had just been sitting in. "I... I'm sorry."

The older man looked confused. "What for? I'm glad that you decided to at least give fuuin-"

"No!" Naruto spoke up louder than he intended, apparently startling his godfather into stunned silence. "I mean... I'm sorry for overreacting in the hospital. Earlier. You know."

Jiraiya was silent for a moment, trying to wrap his thoughts around the sudden topic change. "There is nothing to be sorry for. If anything, I should still be apologizing for keeping it hidden from you for so long. I'll apologize for Tsunade too, though she says she wants to say it herself before you leave."

They were both silent again, Naruto merely nodded in acceptance. It was rather stupid to argue about apologies, after all. His gaze fell back down to the book again, but promptly returned to Jiraiya when the man asked a question.

"So... is this going to be a new look for you?"

Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion at first, he had no idea what the man was getting at. Looking down at himself, his eyes went wide as he realized what he was wearing.

Instead of his usual orange and black clothing, he had to settle on wearing just his mesh shirt with loose black sweatpants. It wasn't that he actively sought to change what he typically wore, he just had a lot on his mind when he woke up and wanted to get things taken care of before he had to leave on the mission. Not to mention he had come from the hospital and hadn't been to his apartment yet. The clothing he was wearing during the Gauntlet was shredded beyond repair, so it had been trashed.

Naruto scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "No, not really. I just haven't been to my apartment to change yet. I came here first thing."

Jiraiya scratched at his chin. "Maybe now would be a good time to change what you wear then."

This aroused Naruto's interest. "Why? Even you have approved of what I normally wear."

There was a barely audible sigh, and the Toad Sennin turned toward the bed with his bag still resting on it. He walked over and grabbed it, then turned back to Naruto with a small smile on his face. He approached the boy, chuckled a little, then clapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder and gently turned him towards the door.

As they started walking, Jiraiya clarified. "You're a Jounin now. The lowest class of Jounin," Naruto snorted at that comment, "... but a Jounin nonetheless. So you're going to get one of those standard issue Jounin vests to wear."

Jiraiya sneaked a glance at his apprentice as they were walking down the hallway, and he couldn't tell if Naruto was happy or sad about that. The boy's face kept flashing between two distinct looks, apparently happy about getting a vest, but upset about losing his trademark orange.

They entered the stairwell and continued walking in silence until they exited the hotel. Once they were outside, Jiraiya turned to Naruto once again, eyes squinting in the sunlight.

"Listen, gaki... I know you like the color orange. More than I think is healthy, but your mother was actually the same way, so it must be something in your blood."

Naruto's eyebrows shot sky-high at that remark, but he resisted commenting, much to Jiraiya's surprise. The man was clearly expecting some sort of outburst, and appeared to be fumbling for words before he finally just smiled.

"It seems as though you'll be surprising me for a while yet. I was expecting a barrage of questions."

Naruto merely shrugged, surprising the sennin yet again. "I'm happy to know who my parents are, but I've already learned some stuff about them and I need to let it all sink in. Besides, with everything thats going to be going on in the next few days, I won't really have time to think about it."

Jiraiya was still squinting at the boy because of the sun. Meanwhile, Naruto was staring off into the distance in the direction of the Hokage Tower - probably thinking of who he had to meet up with next. Jiraiya understood that the boy was going to be distracted for a while, so he'd just have to meet up with the teen later and answer any question there may be about his parents.

"Gaki."

Naruto's head snapped back around to Jiraiya, focusing on him. He gave the man a small smile.

"Go meet up with Tsunade to get what you need to get from her, and I'll meet you there in a few minutes. I have something to give you before you go which I think you will appreciate. After that, I have to go meet up with the person that is going to be training you."

Naruto's smile grew and took over the entire lower half of his face - a smile which Jiraiya hadn't seen on the blond in forever. "Alright! Thanks ero-sennin!"

Jiraiya frowned, grumbling. "Mention the word training and you go right back to your old self, don't you?"

Naruto chuckled, and started walking away. He looked over his shoulder and gave his mentor a small wave, the smile still visible on his face. "It's the only way to Hokage, so of course it makes me happy. I'll see you at baa-chan's place, ero-sennin." With that said, Naruto took off, leaping up to the rooftops.

Jiraiya just stood there for a few moments longer, shaking his head with a rueful smile in place. Remembering he had something to do, he took a quick look around to see where he was, then hopped up to the rooftops as well. Using the rooftops as a shortcut was definitely one of the perks of being a shinobi.

* * *

The perverted giggles coming from the man next to her was making Uzuki Yuugao's eyebrows twitch constantly. Several times already she had been slowly reaching for the ninjato on her back, only to have Genma grab her wrist. Every time he did that, she scowled at him, but he merely smirked and shook his head negatively.

This time, however, was the last straw. "Why do you keep stopping me, Genma?"

The tall, dark haired man moved the senbon in his mouth over to one side before he spoke. "Because it's not worth it. Remember, we're going on this mission with the King of Pranks himself. I'm sure he has some interesting ways for you to get payback."

Yuugao's eyes lit up. "Ah, that's right. Thanks for reminding me." She let out an evil cackle, somewhat startling Genma. An evil noise like that did not sound right coming from a woman of her stature.

Apparently, it attracted Kakashi's attention as well, because he casually looked up from his little orange book. "Something going on?"

Yuugao put a sweet smile on her face. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Kakashi-kun."

Kakashi just shrugged and went back to his book, while Genma sweat dropped. Yuugao glanced in his direction with a small amount of concern on her features.

"Did I make that sentence just a little too sweet? I didn't imply I'm attracted to him, did I?"

Genma just rolled his eyes. "I don't think Kakashi likes anything sweet, so I wouldn't worry about it."

Yuugao sighed, then a moment later adopted a serious look and glanced around. "Where the hell is everyone anyway? We actually got Kakashi here on time..."

Before she finished her sentence, three people landed in front of the small group of ANBU. "Sorry we're a little late, Ino-pig had to fix her hair."

"Not true, Forehead! You were concerned about looking good for your preci... phmm!" A hand had suddenly appeared over Ino's mouth, silencing her mid sentence.

"Pig! You said you wouldn't!"

Ino's face looked apologetic, and the pink haired girl slowly removed her hand.

Before either of them could say anything more, the third person interjected. "Looks like the beauty and the bitch need some quality bonding time."

"SAI!" Sakura whirled around on the boy, who was merely standing there with his small smile. She had her arm held back, apparently ready to hit the boy, but paused when she heard snickering next to her. Wild jade eyes turned to see her best friend trying desperately not to laugh outright. She let her arm fall back down to her side, as she wasn't sure who she wanted to hit more now - her friend or her old teammate.

But then a thought struck her, "How do you know you aren't the bitch, Ino-pig?"

Before Ino could say anything, Sai walked by in the direction of the gate and gave her a soft pat on the shoulder. "Why would I call her a bitch, hag?"

Sakura was rendered speechless, and Ino finally burst out laughing. She desperately tried to stop, but seeing the astonished look on Sakura's face, plus the grinning faces she could see of the casually dressed ANBU squad nearby, made it nearly impossible.

"Well, it looks like everyone is having a good time."

Sakura quickly turned to the voice, one she immediately recognized. "Shishou!"

Tsunade examined the scene. Between the grinning ANBU, a laughing Ino, and an ever-emotionless Sai, she had an easy enough time putting the pieces together. She grinned at her apprentice as she approached. "I thought you said you were finally used to your teammate and his wisecracks?"

Her apprentice frowned, waving her arms slightly. "Not in public, around others!"

Ino's snickering was finally settling down, and the ANBU dropped their smiles as soon as the Hokage appeared. Kakashi had even put his book away.

Tsunade was still looking at her apprentice. "Well, at least he is helping you get thick skin for when an enemy throws an insult at you."

Sakura was still frowning, arms now crossed over her chest. She grumbled out an 'I guess so' that only Tsunade could hear.

"Ano... pardon me, Hokage-sama?"

Everyone's attention focused on the female ANBU. She didn't seem fazed in the least as all eyes present turned to look at her.

"Yes, Yuugao?"

"I don't see Naruto-kun with you. Is he being held up?"

The Hokage gave a barely perceptible nod. "Something like that. He was talking with Jiraiya briefly before I left them. He should be along momentarily." She turned to look at Ino, and held her gaze for a few seconds before she turned to Sakura. "You should probably start your gear checks if you haven't already. I trust you made good use of the container scrolls I supplied?"

Sakura nodded as she and Ino removed their packs. Both girls dropped their bags on the ground and began double checking their contents. As they were going through them, Tsunade stepped around Sakura and looked over her apprentice's shoulder. "Did you remember Naruto's stuff as well?"

Sakura nodded, and looked at the Hokage over her shoulder. "Yes... though he doesn't really own much. Everything of his fit in one scroll. All my stuff used three. I still have two extra scrolls."

"Well, he is an orphan, and has always been rather frugal from what I've seen. It seems like he was an expert at getting others to pay for his meals whenever he ate, as well."

Ino chuckled. "He's eaten everything mom has thrown at him."

Tsunade just grinned again. "I don't doubt that for a second."

There was a quick noise of feet hitting the ground close to them, and everyone turned to look. What they saw made everyone except the Hokage and Sai go wide-eyed.

"You guys must have been talking about me a lot, I was sneezing the whole way here. Sorry to keep everyone waiting." Naruto had both hands behind his head with a big grin on his face.

However, almost everyone there wasn't looking at Naruto's face. They were looking at the rest of him.

He was wearing the standard black jounin pants, and the black mesh undershirt was clearly visible. He had received his jounin vest since he was wearing it, although it wasn't zipped up, revealing through the mesh that he had a very well defined abdomen. There was one unusual thing about his attire that stood out, which Sakura picked up on right away. She brought her hand up to point at it, while trying to suppress the blush she knew was on her face. Naruto was...well... hot!

"Naruto... isn't that?" Sakura stepped closer, still pointing at the object around his neck.

Naruto gave her a big smile, and nodded. "Yeah, you remember these goggles, don't you?"

Behind her, Ino snorted. "I'm amazed you still have that thing. You used to take it everywhere."

Naruto's smile remained, but it definitely became more somber as he rubbed his finger on one of the lenses of the goggles. "This was the first present I ever received from Sarutobi-jiisan. I don't think I could ever give it up. He told me it used to belong to my mother. I've kept it in a safe place ever since I got my hitai-ate, which is why it wasn't packed."

No one was quite sure how to respond to that, so everyone just bowed their heads a little and remained silent. Naruto could tell that everyone was quiet because of him, so he immediately laughed a little, trying to brighten things up again.

"Plus, I had to go and make sure that Shizune-neechan was going to take care of my plants while I was gone. I grabbed the journal while I was there, too." Naruto's hand dipped into one of the pockets on his new vest, and pulled the little journal up so that the top of it was visible.

Ino's interest was piqued. "Are you going to make a new garden?"

Naruto shrugged. "I was thinking about it. If not, I think that we can at least grow some vegetables to eat since there will only be a few of us there for the first few months, right?"

Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest. "That depends on how fast you can get the fort built up and start taking local missions. Obviously, the more money you can bring in, the better and easier things will be. Just try not to draw too much attention to yourselves too quickly... Akatsuki is not the only threat out there."

Nearly all present nodded their heads, agreeing silently. Naruto reached up and scratched his chin idly, which caused Yuugao to chuckle. Everyone looked at her, confused. When they saw who she was looking at, they all turned to look at Naruto as well.

But Naruto looked just as confused as everyone else. "What's so funny, Yuugao-chan?"

She had a grin on her face, and a hand on her hip. "I see you still can't get away from the color orange."

At this, everyone finally focused on the part of Naruto that was orange... his gloves. The fingers were cut off at the first knuckle, but otherwise covered his hands completely. They had a metal plate affixed to the back of them, though it was blank with no engraving. That meant they were likely brand new.

"Ah! Yeah, Ero-sennin got them for me. He said I couldn't wear orange anymore, but that an accessory should be okay."

Kakashi spoke for the first time, startling almost everyone. "Well, at least you're no longer a walking target."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head again, not sure if he wanted to feel sheepish or pout. However, upon looking at Kakashi, then Yuugao and Genma, it was his turn to notice something odd.

"Ano... Kakashi-sensei... why aren't you in your ANBU uniform?"

It was Yuugao who answered. "We are ANBU, yes, but this is not an official ANBU mission."

Naruto looked confused, as usual, though he was not alone this time. Sakura and Ino didn't look like they understood either. Tsunade cleared her throat, bringing everyone's attention to her.

"ANBU answers directly to and only to the Hokage. I ask for missions to be assigned for them, and give any special instructions. Usually ANBU headquarters takes care of assigning squads to missions, but this time I had special instructions..."

Genma cut in, "... to make a long story short, putting us in ANBU was the only way for her to get us out of Konoha without causing a ruckus among certain Council members and Danzo."

Tsunade glared at Genma, and he just gave her a small smile as everyone else chuckled lightly at Genma's interruption.

"You're lucky I like you Genma, otherwise I'd stab that senbon where the sun doesn't shine."

Genma visibly paled, while everyone else started laughing outright, especially Yuugao. "M-my apologies, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade just grumbled and frowned at him. She then turned to Naruto, and the boy stopped laughing as her serious face came to rest on him. She stared at him for a moment and he began to get uncomfortable.

"Baa-chan, are y-," he was cut off as he suddenly found himself found in a tight hug. When he was younger, he used to suffocate in her chest, but now the two of them were nearly the same height, so returning the hug of his adopted grandmother was rather simple. She didn't let go for a while, and Naruto was slightly shocked when he thought he heard her sniffle.

As they pulled apart from the embrace, Tsunade started wiping her eyes frantically. It wouldn't do for anyone in the village to see the Hokage misty-eyed, after all. Naruto and the rest of the group were stunned into complete silence, none had ever seen the Hokage come this close to crying before. Naruto was especially uncomfortable, because he wasn't used to anyone fussing over him when he was completely healthy. The tears didn't usually appear until he had been beaten up a little.

When Tsunade did speak again, it was barely a whisper.

"Take care of yourself, you baka. If I lose you too, I don't know what I'd do."

Naruto gave her a gentle smile. "Nothing is going to happen to me, baa-chan. I've got to take your job after all."

Tsunade let out a noise that was halfway between a laugh and a sob. "Thats right. This job is starting to bore me." In seconds, Tsunade's demeanor changed entirely. She stood up straight and gave Naruto a steely gaze. The poor boy was stunned, and nearly stumbled backwards as she started barking out orders to him. It looked a little odd, because her eyes were still slightly puffy from the almost-tears earlier.

"Naruto! I want a report from you at least once a month on progress!"

"H-Hai, baa-"

"I want to know how many missions you are managing to finish in those reports!"

"Errr... yes Hok-"

"If anyone approaches you on a diplomatic basis, we need to know about it!"

"W-what do y-"

"Make sure you change your underwear every day! Take a bath too! Stay clean!"

Naruto was flailing about, trying to agree with her and to get her to stop talking to tell her he already knew what to do. Time seemed to stop with her last declaration, and Naruto felt his cheeks burning up quickly.

"Don't forget to-"

Tsunade stopped short with her next statement when she felt a cool hand rest on her arm. She looked to her side and saw Sakura giving her a grin. The girl's cheeks were red, but it was quickly fading.

"Shishou, I'll take care of Naruto. Don't worry."

The Hokage looked like she wanted to keep talking, but she eventually nodded at Sakura. "See that you do." While the statement itself may have seemed harsh to anyone that didn't know the Hokage and her apprentice very well, Sakura understood that Tsunade was trying to express her worry in the only way she really knew how.

Sakura turned away and walked back over to her backpack, she was aware that Naruto was staring at her back. As she started putting it back together, she looked over her shoulder and gave him a wink. Naruto saw it and blushed, then promptly turned his attention to where the three ANBU members were standing. Not seeing them there, he quickly looked around and spotted them with Ino, heading for the gate where Sai was waiting. Realizing that it would likely be a very long time before he would be able to see Tsunade again, he walked back over to her and gave her another hug, which she quickly returned.

"I love you, baa-chan. Take care of yourself."

There was a sudden intake of breath in his ear, then a choked sob and a slightly stuttered reply.

"I love you too, brat. Let me know if you have any problems. I mean it. _Any_ problems."

"I know." As Naruto pulled back from the hug, he was tugged forward again as Tsunade leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on his forehead. The only difference this time was that she had to get on her tiptoes and pull his head down a bit to do it.

As Naruto backed away, Sakura took a moment and gave the Hokage a hug of her own. Tsunade seemed surprised at first, but then smiled and hugged Sakura back.

"Stay healthy, shishou."

"You as well, Sakura."

Sakura pulled back from the embrace and grinned at her mentor. "I have to stay healthy, because if I don't, who knows what kind of trouble this idiot will get into." The pink haired girl gave Tsunade a lopsided grin and jerked her thumb in Naruto's direction. Tsunade broke into a smile when the new jounin decided to pout, though it looked like a sad one because she seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment.

Turning away, the young girl reached over and grabbed one of Naruto's hands. He seemed surprised at first, but eventually grinned and scratched the back of his head with his free hand as he let Sakura lead him away towards the gate.

"See you, baa-chan! I'll write when we're up and running!" He gave a big wave and almost tripped as Sakura started pulling harder on his arm so they could catch up to the rest of the group. Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle as she waved back.

The Godaime Hokage turned and started the trek back towards the Hokage's Tower. She was currently trying to embed the image of the big wave, crazy grin, and messy mop of blond hair into her memory since she knew it would likely be a long time before she ever saw her adopted grandson again.

Waving her hand quickly over her face, she subtly adjusted her permanent genjutsu so that it would hide the tears that finally began to flow.

* * *

**Edited:** January 27th, 2010

Up Next: I Spy


	11. I Spy

Chapter 11

"Are we there yet?"

Naruto was the only one who chuckled among the chorus of groans that followed that question. In the past, even a month ago, he could have seen himself asking that very same question. However, Ino seemed to be doing a fine job of asking it repeatedly without any input from him.

"Well, Naruto-kun?"

Returning from his brief musings, he looked over at the female who asked the question. She was traveling next to Sai, behind him and Sakura. Some of their group was traveling in pairs, with Naruto and Sakura at the front, Ino and Sai in the middle, but all three recently reinstated ANBU were bringing up the rear. Since he was the one who went on the patrol mission to scout out the area they were headed, he was the only one who was adequately equipped to answer the question.

"I think we're only a few minutes away now. The trees have been thinning out some."

Ino nodded, but the look of boredom never left her face. "Are you sure? I mean, we all know how horrible you are when it comes to maps and directions."

Naruto began to retort, but a snicker on his other side stopped it. His head turned towards the source of the noise, only to see Sakura trying to hold back a laugh. He held a hand over his heart and gave a mock expression of hurt, then turned back to Ino.

"Shikamaru left markers as we returned to Konoha last time. We've been following those. So if we get lost, blame him."

That answer appeased Ino, since she just nodded and fell back into place behind the him.

"Hey."

Naruto turned to the voice that he couldn't get enough of. "What's up, Sakura-chan?" She had a frown on her face, which immediately caused him no small amount of concern. "Is something wrong? Do you need us to stop for a break?"

Her frown turned to a small smile briefly. "No, I'm fine. I just wanted to say sorry for laughing at you a second ago."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise for barely a second, until he gave her a big smile and waved it off. "It's fine, Sakura-chan. I know you didn't mean it, I was just joking with you."

She was still frowning. "Are you sure?"

He tried to make his expression a bit more serious to show that he was, but it was too hard to drop the smile completely. "Yes, I'm sure."

Now she did smile, even if it was only a small one.

"How about you Sakura-chan? Are you sure you're okay? You look tired."

She didn't look at him, but he saw the corner of her mouth arching upward, so he knew she was smiling.

"I am a bit tired, yes. Ino kept me up late last night, fussing over her hair and nagging me about Sai."

"I was not Forehead!"

Sakura turned to look over her shoulder quickly. "I have no reason to lie, Ino-pig!"

There was a derisive snort from behind them, and it suddenly passed across Naruto's mind how Ino may have acquired her nickname. It might not be accurate, but the sound she had just made fit perfectly. He couldn't help but burst into light laughter. Sakura turned a questioning gaze on him, while there was absolute silence behind him.

Naruto easily noticed Sakura's questioning gaze, but Ino asked the question first.

"What's so funny, Naruto?"

He chuckled nervously for a second before replying. "I just thought that it was strange how Sakura-chan calls you 'Pig', and that snort you did sounded just like one."

He didn't laugh and tried to speak seriously, but in the corner of his eye he noticed Sakura had one hand covering her mouth as her shoulders shuddered. She was obviously laughing, but trying not to make noise. Ino was completely silent, so he had a sinking feeling that he had just managed to piss her off. There was probably a big target on his back that was just continuing to grow in size.

"Ah, Ino-san..."

Both Naruto and Sakura turned their heads slightly to look over their shoulders at Sai. Naruto hadn't turned his head far enough to see Ino, since she was directly behind him, but he definitely heard her sigh.

"Yes, Sai?"

"I read in a book that you can use a nickname that someone else has given you if you ask permission first. Otherwise it is considered rude. May I call you Pig?"

This time Sakura wasn't able to hold back the peals of laughter, while Naruto just smiled and kept to himself. He had upset Ino enough already, and he knew that Ino could be just as bad as Sakura in the beatings department. Probably worse now, since he was pretty much considered family to her.

A quick glimpse of something blue in the distance caused Naruto to hold up his hand and stop on the next branch, forestalling any reply or outburst from Ino. Sakura had stopped on the same branch, right next to him, while Ino and Sai stopped on another one on the same tree nearby.

Stealing a quick glance, Naruto saw that Sai's face was neutral as usual, without the slightest trace of emotion. Ino, on the other hand... her face was extremely red and she looked ready to burst at any moment. Quickly observing the area, he noticed the three ANBU they were traveling with land on individual branches nearby. Kakashi spoke up first.

"What's up, Naruto? Someone need a break?"

"No, I think I saw a glimpse of the river up ahead. I haven't seen any of Shikamaru's markers in the last couple of minutes, so we're probably almost there. I was going to head up to the treetops and scout our location for a second."

The three ANBU nodded, so Naruto pumped some chakra into his legs and pushed off the branch, launching himself up to the treetops. As he broke through the canopy, he quickly covered his eyes as the late morning sun blasted him in the face. Muttering a quiet string of curses, he slowly pushed chakra into three of his senses. His eyes adjusted to the sunlight quickly, while his nose and ears immediately picked up a very faint smell of salt and the distinct sound of flowing water. Scanning the area to the northeast, he immediately spotted the remains of the destroyed village that were scouted out barely a week ago. That meant they were on target.

Before he could examine any more of the surrounding area, there was a muffled shout from below him. Thinking they might be under attack, Naruto quickly dropped back down from the treetops to find out what was going on.

He landed in a crouch next to Sakura, ready to ask what was going on, but the question died on his lips. She had given him a worried glance when he landed, but then her attention shifted back over to the only source of noise in the forest.

Ino was gripping the front of Sai's shirt, shaking him back and forth repeatedly while screaming and stringing words together so fast that Naruto couldn't understand what she was saying. Grumbling to himself, he moved toward Ino and Sai's location to break them up, figuring it was his duty as mission leader.

He rested a hand gently on Ino's shoulder, hoping he didn't startle her. "Uhm, Ino-chan..."

Before he could say anything else, Ino let go of Sai's shirt and whirled on him. "WHAT!? You of all-"

Barely a moment after she started yelling in his direction, Naruto let out a scream of his own and clutched at his ears. Falling to his knees, he was vaguely aware of someone wrapping their arms around his torso as he started to drift off towards unconsciousness. The pain was too much for him to handle as his brain started to shut down, but in his last seconds of consciousness he realized his folly. He would have grinned, had he been able.

* * *

Naruto awoke, but didn't open his eyes yet. He was trying to remember his last memory, which he quickly recalled, causing him to wince. As his senses returned to him he noticed that his ears no longer hurt, but the sound of a bird chirping nearby was definitely muffled. Finally starting to register where he was, he realized that he was lying on his back, somewhat comfortably, while his head was propped up slightly and very comfortable. Some of that comfort came from the top of his head, and he quickly came to understand that someone was gently running their fingers through his hair.

Slowly opening his eyes, he looked almost straight up into the treetops, and was relieved to see that there was still daylight. Looking around with his eyes but careful not to move, he was shocked to see that his head was currently resting in Sakura's lap, and it was her hand that was going through his hair. The result of this discovery was immediately visible on his face, but thankfully her eyes were closed as she leaned back against a tree behind her.

Naruto managed to get his face under control in about a minute, and enjoyed the feeling of her hand going through his hair for a moment longer. Grudgingly, he thought that they should get moving again, so he shifted a little and moved his head to get her to wake up.

Her reaction was immediate. Her eyes opened wide and he heard her say his name, though it was incredibly muffled. He just grinned at her and looked up, with his head still resting in her lap. She seemed to gradually remember where his head was located, and quickly folded both arms under her chest while looking away to the side. There was a light blush that was quickly spreading over her face.

"Hi, Sakura-chan."

The reply was too soft-spoken and muffled for him to make out, but he assumed that she was returning his greeting. Chuckling lightly, he lifted his head up off her lap and leaned forward, sitting up. Looking around briefly, he noticed Ino resting against another tree nearby; his jounin vest, forehead protector, and goggles were sitting in a neat pile next to her.

Naruto turned to look at Sakura, who must have been looking at him. She quickly turned away when he brought his gaze over to her. She was still blushing, and the thought passed through his mind that she must really, finally like him now. A smile broke out on Naruto's face as he scooted over next to her.

She didn't move at all as he inched closer, which surprised him on yet another level. She was typically the type of person who greatly valued her personal space. Naruto wanted to make the most of this opportunity, but then his more rational side took a moment to wallop him over the head before Sakura did. Better to be safe around this girl... he was already injured, and she might easily make it worse if he did something stupid.

"Thanks for healing me, Sakura-chan."

Her head turned slightly in his direction, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. Her voice was still muffled, but at least she was talking loud enough for him to hear her.

"You're welcome. How are your ears?"

Naruto reached his hands up and pulled on his earlobes slightly. Then he ran his fingers over the outsides of his ears, gently prodding, but he didn't feel any pain.

"They don't hurt, but everything sounds muffled. What happened?"

Sakura finally turned to face him, a frown marring her features. She reached out with one hand which was glowing a dull green, and started rubbing the area around one of his ears with a gentle touch.

"Your eardrums burst, baka."

Naruto's face adopted a knowing smile. "That's what I thought right before I passed out. I had just remembered that I forgot to stop enhancing my senses. I thought she was really loud for some reason even when I was behind her."

Sakura just sighed and shook her head. She grabbed Naruto's chin with one hand and turned his head so that she could check his other ear. After a few seconds of making sure he was okay, she dropped both hands and gave him a grim smile.

"Well, things might sound muffled for a while. I've done all I can with no medical instruments. Kyuubi should heal you up fine in no time though, you're already a lot better than you were when I stopped the bleeding."

Naruto paled slightly. "I was bleeding?"

Sakura nodded slowly, gesturing over to his jacket and other items. "Uzuki-san caught you just before you passed out, I didn't know what was going on at first. But as soon as I saw the blood coming out of your ears, I figured out what happened. Ino started panicking and yelling, so I had to knock her out so she wouldn't cause more damage. Uzuki-san took off your jacket as I tried to stop the bleeding, claiming that you always got upset when your clothes got ruined because it was hard for you to get new ones."

Naruto was looking at his neat pile of items, and chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like Yuugao-chan."

Naruto waited a moment, but Sakura never responded. Looking back in her direction, he noticed that she was frowning and her hands were clenched into fists.

"Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

Sakura looked at Naruto briefly, then looked away again. "Do you... like Uzuki-san?"

Naruto blinked, looking confused. "Well... yeah. She's like a big sister to me. She helped me out a lot when I was little."

She shook her head and looked at him again, though Naruto was having a hard time figuring out her expression.

"No, I mean... do you like her? Romantically?"

Naruto blinked at her for a few seconds, trying to understand what she was asking. When it finally clicked, his face scrunched up in confusion. "Uh, no. That would be too much like saying I like Shizune-neechan. Gross." Naruto's eyes went wide and he quickly waved his arms around, hastily amending his last statement before Sakura could say anything. "I mean... Shizune-neechan is awesome, I like her, but I don't _really_ like her. Romantically. That would be... weird."

The corner of Sakura's mouth twitched into a small smile before she nodded. "I just wanted to check... she was extremely protective of you. She wouldn't let anyone get near you, and Kakashi-sensei had to calm her down some before she would even let me take a look at you. Kakashi-sensei seemed to understand why she was acting that way, but he was the only one, and he said it wasn't his place to explain why when I asked."

Naruto was looking off into the distance, and nodded slowly. "Yuugao-chan was a Chuunin when she entered ANBU. I was seven at the time, and she was seventeen. Her first assignment was to watch over me. The assignment start date was on my eighth birthday. I'm sure you remember that my birthday is the same day the Kyuubi attacked... they have the festival."

Sakura's head was down, but she was nodding, and Naruto could clearly see her lips turned downward into a frown. "Anyway, I was walking to my apartment after getting some groceries earlier in the day before the festival started. Unfortunately there were two men who must have started drinking a little early, because they stopped me in the street. Their speech was slurred, and started talking about beating the demon out of me. I tried to run, but one of them was pretty fast for being drunk and he managed to grab onto my shoulder. I cried for help, but as usual, no one wanted to intervene."

Sakura was looking at him now with wide eyes and her hands covering her mouth. She was fighting tears, and obviously knew where this story was going. "Like I said before, this was Yuugao-chan's first day to watch me. She appeared as soon as one of the men grabbed me, but she jumped down into a bad spot. The other man was swinging his bottle around randomly and yelling. Yuugao-chan landed right where his bottle was swinging, and it smashed into her face."

Sakura gasped, but Naruto waved his hand. "She had her mask on, so she was alright, just a little dazed. The bottle broke though, and when the drunk man finally realized what happened, he ran. The law states that any civilian who harms a shinobi may be incarcerated indefinitely if they aren't acting in self defense. The other drunk man was concentrating too much on me though, so he didn't notice. By the time Yuugao-chan managed to recover her senses, the man managed to get in a few good hits."

Naruto smiled at Sakura, who looked absolutely stricken. "It all worked out in the end. Kyuubi healed me up really fast, and that man is still in jail to this day. Yuugao-chan became obsessively protective of me since then."

Sakura finally spoke up. "Does she know about Kyuubi?"

Naruto nodded. "After I found out about Kyuubi, she told me that the Sandaime informed her of my tenant the day she became ANBU, because all ANBU are informed regardless of age if they didn't already know. Apparently since she was so concerned about my well-being when she found out, she was placed on Kakashi-sensei's team, since he was still an ANBU Captain at the time."

"So she wasn't the only one who watched over you, then?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. It was Kakashi-sensei's entire team that was assigned to watch over me, which also included Hayate, Genma, and their most recent member, Yuugao-chan. She said she knew someone else was watching me too, but they always left when she arrived and didn't want to talk to her, and eventually stopped watching me altogether. She said that the Sandaime confirmed there was a fifth person for a while, but he was not allowed to say who."

Sakura started looking confused right after Naruto started speaking. "Kakashi-sensei, though? It seemed like you didn't know him that well when our team was formed."

"I never saw him. I knew I was being helped because sometimes a person would be yelling at me, and then suddenly stop, but I never anything happen to make them stop. I didn't find out he watched me until Yuugao-chan told me. Same with Hayate and Genma. Though she told me she tried to take as many of their babysitting shifts as she could that they were willing to give up."

Sakura looked like she was mulling over where she had heard that name before, since she was repeating his name over and over. "Hey... wasn't Hayate our chuunin exam proctor? The one who was found dead right before the third phase?"

Naruto frowned, then nodded slowly. "Yeah, I actually met him several times when he was in uniform, though he never took off his mask. After a while I never saw him anymore, at least not in his ANBU uniform. I heard from Yuugao-chan that he had to leave because of health problems, so he became a Chuunin kenjutsu instructor. After he left ANBU, I used to watch him and Yuugao-chan spar a lot when she was off duty. They even taught me a few things, but I think I was too young at the time to really appreciate kenjutsu."

Sakura nodded, but it looked like she had another question.

"Something else on your mind, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked startled for a moment, surprised that Naruto could read her so easily. But she eventually nodded. "Yeah, actually... how come I don't remember ever seeing Uzuki-san around you near the Academy, or anywhere else for that matter."

Naruto scratched his chin for a moment, thinking about possible explanations. "Well, when she was on duty she wasn't supposed to be close to me unless it was an emergency, but she usually had little ways of letting me know she was around. She used to take me places that I couldn't enter alone sometimes when she was off-duty. I think I had just turned eleven when she got promoted to jounin, so her responsibilities changed and she couldn't be around as much. But she was the first to arrive where Iruka-sensei and I were after we fought Mizuki, and she was the first one to visit me after baa-chan patched me up from the fight with Sasuke."

Naruto was surprised by Sakura's reaction... or rather lack of one... when he mentioned Sasuke. On top of that, she didn't even ask about the hospital visit.

"She was the first to arrive after you and Iruka-sensei fought the traitor, Mizuki-sensei? When did that-" Sakura's eyes went wide as something triggered in her memory. "So that's how you graduated? I was always wondering... what happened?"

Naruto grimaced and looked away as the memory resurfaced, and was thinking about how to explain what had happened when his eyes fell on Ino. She was still resting peacefully against the tree. Seeing her reminded him of the mission they were on, and who knows how much time he had inadvertently wasted already.

"That's a story I think that would be best saved for another day when we have some free time. I think my hearing is mostly back to normal now, and we should probably get moving again."

Sakura frowned slightly but nodded, and rose to her feet, Naruto doing the same shortly after. As she watched Naruto move over toward Ino to wake her, he tossed a question over his shoulder at her.

"Where is everyone else?"

"Shortly after I finished healing your ears as best I could, Kakashi-sensei summoned Pakkun and had him lead the rest of the group towards the river you saw earlier. Uzuki-san didn't want to leave, but eventually Kakashi-sensei managed to convince her that you would be in safe hands with me here."

Naruto dropped to his knees next to Ino, then looked over his shoulder at Sakura once again and grinned. "Did she give you 'The Stare'?"

Sakura shuddered at the memory. "Is that what you call it?"

Naruto chuckled as he started gently shaking Ino. "Yeah, she gives it to anyone who might be able to do something to me, just as an unspoken warning. One time a civilian started yelling at her for holding my hand when she was off-duty, and she gave him that look. The guy pissed his pants right in the middle of the street. Later on when I knew what killing intent was, I asked her if she used it on that guy. She laughed at the memory and said no, it was just the way she looked at him."

A giggle came from Sakura at the thought, which was interrupted when Ino started yawning loudly and stretching her arms.

"Ahhhhh.... what happened? All I reme-"

Her eyes landed on Naruto, and she quickly hopped to her feet and went into panic mode. She quickly ran up and hugged him. "Oh Kami! Are you alright? What happened? What did I do? I was so scared, you had blood running down your arms coming from your ears and it was making a mess and-!"

Naruto carefully hugged her and slowly rubbed her back as she came close to sobbing outright. "It's alright now, Ino-chan. I was just being a stupid baka, like usual."

Ino stepped back and started wiping her eyes, sniffling. "What do you mean? I don't understand how it's your fault..."

Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his head as Sakura walked over. "Well you see, when I got to the top of the trees to scout the area I enhanced my senses. I heard some muffled yelling from down below, so I quickly dropped back down to investigate, thinking we might be under attack."

Ino's face took on a horror-struck look as it gradually dawned on her what had happened. "Needless to say, I forgot to turn off the enhancements, and when you turned around and yelled at me, my eardrums exploded."

Ino looked like she wanted to cry again. "Ohhhh no! I knew it was my fault! I'm sorry!"

Naruto waved it off and gave her a small smile, while Sakura placed her hands on Ino's shoulder and arm in an attempt to calm her down. "If you want to go back and look for the cause, it's my fault for making the comment I did that got you upset in the first place. So don't worry about it. I have no one to blame but myself."

Ino looked like she wanted to argue that point, but noticing the looks on both Naruto's and Sakura's faces, decided against it. "Fine. Just don't scare me like that again."

Naruto gave her a big smile. "I'll do my best, Ino-chan. Now we need to get moving, we shouldn't be more than a few minutes out from our destination. Are you awake enough to move fast?

Ino nodded at Naruto. The boy looked at Sakura, asking her the same question, silently. She smiled and nodded as well.

"All right then, lets go."

* * *

Upon arrival near the outskirts of the town, the trio noticed that the ANBU and Sai had managed to set up some sleeping tents and get a fire started. As they approached, Kakashi noticed and held up a hand in greeting.

"Yo."

Naruto raised his hand to return the greeting.

"Hey, Kaka-"

His greeting was cut off abruptly as he was ambushed by someone with purple hair who was squeezing him tight. He hadn't put his vest back on yet, so he had no extra room to breathe.

"Ahhh... Yuug... ao-chan... can't... breathe..."

The woman quickly let go and took a small step backward, giving him a big smile. "Sorry, I'm just really glad to see you're good as new."

Ino was staring wide-eyed, her gaze traveling quickly between Yuugao and Naruto. Worriedly, she turned to look at Sakura, who caught her gaze and gave Ino a small smile and shake of her head. Ino's lips pressed into a firm line, she definitely needed an explanation later.

After she finished making sure he really was okay, Yuugao turned to Sakura and gave the pink haired girl a small smile. "Thanks for taking care of Naruto. Sometimes he's a genius, and sometimes... he's not."

Sakura returned the smile. "I'm happy to do whatever I can for him. But I should be thanking you for taking care of him when he was little."

One of Yuugao's eyebrows arched up. "Told you about that, did he?" She looked over her shoulder towards Naruto, who had since moved on to talk to his old sensei.

Sakura nodded, while Ino stepped closer and listened in keenly. The three slowly started walking towards the middle of camp where the males were standing. "So how much of his past did he talk about?"

"Not much, really. He mostly explained his relationship with you."

Yuugao laughed lightly, and looked at Sakura with a big smile. "So you really were jealous."

Sakura blushed slightly, while Ino was loving every minute of this conversation.

"I used to be, yes, until he explained why you were so protective of him."

Yuugao nodded, still smiling. "That kid is one of a kind. Be good to him."

Sakura's blush deepened. Was she the only one who was oblivious to how she felt for so long?

Before anyone could say anything else, the three of them came to a stop closer to the fire. Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi were speaking in low tones, most of the words mumbled, but it didn't appear like they were talking quietly on purpose. Genma walked up to them and stood next to Yuugao, a small, crooked smile on his face.

"Yuugao, looks like your boyfriend is back and in fine condition."

There was no immediate reply, but soon Genma felt a hand hit the back of his head, causing him to spit his senbon out into the fire. "Awww... what was that for?"

Yuugao simply sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "For the last time, he is not my boyfriend, nor will he ever be. Naruto and I both have a unique relationship, and we completely understand our positions within it. Stop listening to that pervert Kakashi."

Genma was frowning as he looked at his senbon disappear in the fire while rubbing the back of his head. "Sheesh... fine, fine..." He turned and walked away from the group, towards one of the tents that was further away, probably to get another senbon.

"So what is your relationship with him, exactly? I didn't even know you existed until three days ago."

Both Yuugao and Sakura turned to look at Ino, who looked upset at being left out of the loop. It was Sakura who answered first.

"Naruto says she's kind of like his big sister."

Yuugao looked at Sakura with raised eyebrows, then turned to look at Ino and nodded. "I suppose that's probably the most accurate way to label it."

Ino was about to ask another question, but was cut off as Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai approached. Naruto was smiling, and continued the explanation. "Yuugao-chan and I were almost officially related, once."

Everyone present, even Kakashi, looked surprised, and most turned to Yuugao for an explanation. She rolled her eyes at Naruto, and barked out a laugh. "That's true. When I turned twenty, I tried to convince the Sandaime to let me adopt Naruto."

The shocked look remained on nearly everyone's faces, but Ino noticed that no one else seemed to want to ask what happened, so she took the initiative. "So what was the result? I don't think I've ever heard him call you neesan..."

Yuugao shook her head and sighed. "I asked him about that when he was little, and he told me he just liked calling me 'chan' better, so it remained that way. As for the adoption, the Sandaime didn't have any problem with it, since I had been watching Naruto for so long. But all adoptions have to go through the council. Civilian adoptions go through the civilian council, and shinobi-related adoptions go through the shinobi council. Since I was a kunoichi trying to adopt a then-civilian, it had to go through both councils, and has to be approved by both. The civilian council approved it by a slim margin, but the shinobi council rejected it by one vote, a tiebreaker."

Naruto growled. "Danzou." As soon as he uttered that name Kakashi stiffened, though only Yuugao and Sai glanced at him.

Yuugao nodded. "The old coot stated that he wouldn't have minded if I was a little older, but that because I was still relatively young and inexperienced, I could be easily persuaded by an established clan to accept their offer of help raising Naruto."

The mood seemed to mellow out around the group, but Ino was stunned. Why had the vote been so close in the first place? It was just a simple adoption, he was a civilian orphan!

"What's the problem with that? A bigger family would be better for a child, right?"

Yuugao gave Ino a small smile. "It would seem that way, but Naruto is a special case for several reasons, one of which has been long-standing, and another one he found out recently - though I'm not sure if any of the council is aware of it yet. Because of the first reason, many shinobi were wary of one clan gaining too much power - political and otherwise - through him. Therefore they decreed the current Hokage was the only one ultimately responsible for his welfare. The old man did what he could, but he was still getting up there in years, and Hokage is not exactly an easy job by any means."

Ino looked at Naruto, who was staring back, looking rather pensive. "Do you want to know the reasons, Ino-chan?"

Sakura gasped, and Yuugao went wide-eyed. She held a hand up to forestall any further comments. "Wait! Are you really sure you want to, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at Yuugao, then Sakura, and back to Yuugao. He gave her a small smile and shrugged. "Regarding one of those reasons, Ino-chan is the only one here right now who doesn't know. As for the other thing, if I'm going to be in charge, I'd rather not have any big secrets between all of us."

Kakashi looked slightly startled by that admission, and Ino's eyes were wide. Yuugao looked resigned, while Sakura was giving Naruto a sad smile. Sai was expressionless, as usual.

Naruto looked at the ground, unable to meet anyone's gaze. He started with a big sigh. "First, I guess I'll start with the thing that I just found out recently, and only two other people here know." Taking a deep breath, he looked up and stared at Ino. "My birth father is the Yondaime Hokage."

There were several moments of silence, during which Ino just stood there, stunned. Sai's eyes went wide, which was an unusual sight. Kakashi didn't show much of a change in body language, therefore it was likely that he already knew about it. He was still watching Naruto, and the blond was staring right back at him.

"I guess this means you knew too, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi looked away for a moment, then turned his head back to Naruto and nodded slowly. "Yes."

Naruto turned away from everyone for a moment, looking up into the sky and taking a deep breath, confirming his own suspicions about his sensei knowing who his parents were. It only made sense, Kakashi had told Team Seven on more than one occasion that the Yondaime was his sensei. There was no way he couldn't have known.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you. I wanted to all the time, but I was under orders. The identity of your parents was even more strictly guarded than the fact that you are the host of the Kyuubi."

Now Naruto looked down at his feet, closing his eyes. "I know you couldn't say anything. You're lucky that I've already screamed at Ero-sennin and Baa-chan. Otherwise you'd be hearing from me, but I don't feel like it right now. No matter what anyone says, even if it was for my safety, I still think that I had a right to know who my parents were."

He turned back around to see everyone except Sai nodding to what he said. Kakashi was slouched a little, but otherwise the jounin looked fine. Naruto guessed that the man would just chalk it up onto his already established list of failures.

"I forgive you, Kakashi-sensei. Though I'm still gonna hold a grudge because you favored teaching Sasuke over me and Sakura-chan."

Naruto heard Sakura inhale sharply and mutter his name in warning, but Kakashi gave a light laugh and tried to look somewhat ignorant.

"Well, you see, I was under orders to give Sasuke private lessons because I was the only one with the sharingan who could still teach him. But I did try to find you guys teachers when I wasn't able to teach you directly!"

Naruto looked to Sakura. "I found Ero-sennin on my own. Did he hand you over to anyone?"

Sakura shook her head, frowning. "No, I just studied and practiced sometimes at our usual training ground. Occasionally Asuma-sensei would give me pointers when I was over at Ino's or hanging out with her team. When Tsunade-sama arrived, I asked her personally to take me as her apprentice."

The two members of Team Seven turned back to their sensei, expressions dour. Kakashi was obviously sweating, his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay... I started to go look for other teachers to help you, but then I met this old lady who was having a hard time getting around the market..."

Sakura just sighed and turned away while Naruto looked at the others to see if they were believing any of this. Ino was frowning, Sai looked perturbed if nothing else, and Yuugao was absolutely livid. If Naruto didn't do something, she was liable to strangle the silver haired man to death... or worse.

"Hey guys, what'd I miss?"

Everyone looked over to the side, Genma appeared from behind a tent, whittling away at a small stick with his knife.

Ino spoke the question that everyone was thinking. "Where were you all this time?"

"Huh? Oh... I haven't unpacked yet, and my senbon were the first thing I packed, so they'll be at the bottom, and I don't feel like digging around for them just yet. So I wandered around and found this small stick, which I'm carving into something similar."

"Why?"

Genma turned to Sakura and shrugged. "No real reason. Works well as a surprise weapon when the situation warrants."

"Killing someone with your spit. That's kind of amusing." Everyone turned to look at Ino, most with raised eyebrows. She met all of the stares with no small amount of confusion. "What? I'm the only one who thinks it's funny?"

Naruto shook his head and gave her a grin. "Anyway, ready for the next thing, Ino-chan? I'm pretty sure you're the only one here who doesn't know this one."

She kept her eyes focused on the only other blond present, and slowly nodded her affirmative.

Naruto sighed again, and gave her a small grin before speaking. "Well... you know why Konoha holds a festival on October 10th every year, right?"

A nod.

"You know how long ago the Kyuubi attacked, as well as how old I am, right?"

Another nod, but her eyes were getting wider as well. Any wider, and everyone present feared they were gonna pop out of her head.

"You may or may not have heard the term, but I am a jinchuuriki. The Kyuubi was never killed by the Yondaime. It's sealed inside me."

Naruto gave her a tight grin, anticipating the worst, but it never came. Ino simply blinked a few times, then shrugged.

"Oh, is that it?"

Pretty much everyone was shocked speechless, though Kakashi seemed to recover first. He snapped his fingers, bringing all attention to him.

"That's right, you already knew. I didn't think about it at the time, but you must have known before we went hunting for Hidan and Kakuzu. Shikamaru said Naruto was a jinchuuriki then, and you and Chouji didn't seem fazed at all."

Ino nodded at Kakashi. "Shikamaru told us what he thought about it long before then. I think it was back when Naruto went to go help the Kazekage, Gaara. He told us what he thought, and we all agreed that everything fit. We asked Asuma-sensei about it, and he reluctantly confirmed it. We had to blackmail him to get the confirmation."

With a grin, she gave Naruto a thumbs-up. "Besides, you don't have fox ears coming out of the top of your head right now, or tails either, so I'm pretty sure you're human."

Naruto just nodded and smiled at her, chuckling at her choice of words while internally relieved that she already knew about it and still accepted him. It meant more to him than she probably knew.

"Okay... well, with that out of the way, I guess we should start discussing our plans for this outpost."

Everyone around chorused their agreement as Naruto turned and started heading over towards the campfire. They were beginning to lose daylight, but if they made plans tonight, they could all get started with their projects tomorrow.

* * *

Naruto stopped what he was doing and wiped his brow. Even though it was rather cool outside, hard work made him sweat no matter the temperature. Stretching for a moment and looking around, he couldn't help but feel a small sense of pride. Their little outpost had been making strides over the past several days. Most of it was due to his use of his Mass Shadow Clone technique, allowing him to make hundreds of clones. Through a bit of trial and error, he had discovered that he could keep them working for about three to four hours nonstop before he had to dispel them gradually if he didn't want to suffer from massive headaches or go into a coma. The first day he made that mistake and dispelled them bunches at a time. According to Ino and Sakura, he knocked himself unconscious for nearly sixteen hours, much to the worry of everyone.

After he figured out what to do, though, the outpost had been showing definite progress. He had been able to get plenty of practice using his basic wind techniques to chop down trees in the nearby forest, and then further slice them into wooden spikes, planks, and pillars needed for construction. With quite a bit of help from Sai, who was surprisingly good with measurements, they had managed to build a small medical building for Sakura, as well as a small command building for temporary living and meetings. Next on the list was building some kind of barracks for everyone present to live in, plus future visitors. Everyone present knew the buildings that they were erecting would not last for an extended amount of time, but some kind of shelter was better than nothing until they found some artisans to help them construct more stable buildings.

Glancing over towards the east, Naruto examined the ruins of the old town nearby. That was another task that he would have to do, go back and thoroughly examine those ruins. Part of him wished Shikamaru was around, because he'd be able to study and understand things a lot quicker than anyone else Naruto knew. Visiting that pool of murky water would also be one of his priorities, considering the strange pull it had on him in the past.

Realizing that it was approaching the four hour mark, he shouted to the last group of his clones who were gathering materials for the barracks that it was time to dispel. They all gave him a quick salute, then dispelled one after the other. Naruto closed his eyes and let the sudden rush of information settle in his head, taking several moments to sit still so that he wouldn't get a headache or go unconscious.

Naruto wasn't sure how long he had been been sitting there with his eyes closed, but it didn't seem like very long before he felt cool fingertips press gently against the sides of his forehead. He smiled gently, remembering that Sakura had managed to figure out a way to alleviate some of the pain he got from dispelling a lot of clones at once. She tried explaining it to him one time, but he gave up attempting to understand her medical speak.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan."

He felt her lips press against his forehead briefly, then they disappeared, along with her fingers. He opened his eyes and looked up at her as she smiled down at him. She had stopped saying 'you're welcome' and had settled on giving him quick kisses as a response instead, which was fine with him. It had become something of a ritual between them since she discovered the technique, considering neither of them blushed anymore. The first time Genma saw it, he made a comment that neither Sakura nor Naruto heard, but Yuugao must have considering she chased him around for the next hour.

"Naruto, it's almost time for lunch."

Naruto perked up at the mention of food. "Really? Are we having ramen this time?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and lightly pushed his shoulder after he stood up. "Baka. We're saving that kind of stuff for emergencies. It's fish again until Ino can get some stuff from the garden she's started cultivating."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I figured. Some of my clones have been helping her get the garden going, it's coming along nicely."

"How long until we get food from it?"

The blond looked at Sakura and shrugged. "I've never grown fruits or vegetables before. I don't think Ino-chan has either. My mom's journal had some tips to speed up their growth, but it doesn't say how fast."

Sakura nodded at him, then giggled a little and grabbed Naruto's hand as they started walking, surprising him. That was something else new. He looked at their hands, and then her face. She was giving him an innocent look, but Naruto's eyes were wide.

"S-Sakura-chan?!"

"Hmm?"

"Y-Your hand... you're holding mine?!"

She giggled again. "Looks like it."

Naruto's mouth gaped open and closed for a few seconds, before Sakura laughed outright.

"Naruto, I know you are what you eat, but gaping like a fish is not very attractive."

The teens mouth closed quickly with a rather loud 'clack', then he turned his attention back to where they were walking, only to see Ino and Sai looking their way with some amusement. As they approached, Ino got the first words in.

"Trying to make a statement, Forehead?"

"Not at all Pig, just doing what feels right."

Ino adopted a thinking pose. "Huh, is that so? I wonder what's going to feel right once the sun goes down..."

Sakura immediately dropped Naruto's hand and pointed at her friend, shaking with embarrassment. "Ino! That's embarrassing, not to mention perverted!"

Sai was actually smiling at the exchange, while Naruto's nose started to bleed slightly. He frantically started wiping at it before Sakura took notice. Ino looked like she was ready to goad Sakura on some more, but another voice interrupted her.

"Making some moves, eh gaki? Looks like I arrived at the perfect time."

Naruto and Sakura whirled around, while Ino and Sai finally registered that there was someone... no, more than one person, behind the other two teens.

"Ero-sennin!"

Jiraiya grumbled for a moment. "Sheesh, what happened to Jiraiya-jiisan? I liked that a lot better."

Naruto simply stared at the man. "I'll start calling you that when you can introduce yourself without acting like a pervert." Naruto's eyes drifted over to the person standing next to Jiraiya. Their face was completely hidden by a dark hood, and they were wearing a loose robe so it was impossible to tell their gender.

"Who's that?"

Jiraiya blinked, then looked at his companion, almost as if he forgot they were there.

"Oh! Yes, Naruto, this is the spy I told you about, the one who knows wind techniques and was willing to teach you."

Naruto looked at the spy, gave one of his big smiles, and nodded. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and future Hokage of Konoha. Nice to meet you!"

The spy had been standing with a rigid posture since their arrival, completely unmoving. Jiraiya was standing close by while nodding his approval at Naruto's introduction, until he noticed that all the teens were staring at the spy with something akin to worry and confusion. The Toad Sennin looked to his side again, curious as to what they were looking at - only to see the spy standing there, still as could be.

Jiraiya was starting to worry. "Uhm... is something wrong?"

The spy quickly jerked its face towards Jiraiya, then back to Naruto, then back to Jiraiya again. The spy quickly lifted an arm and pointed a shaking finger at the Sennin, who took an involuntary step back. The four ninja tensed, preparing for a confrontation, but were totally bewildered as soon as the spy spoke.

"Why didn't you ever tell me he was alive!?"

Everyone there was totally shocked into silence. The voice was definitely female, and Jiraiya looked completely stricken.

"W-What?! Why was I supposed to tell you anyone was alive?! I don't even know who you are! Every time I've talked to you before, you sounded like a male, now you're female!"

Showing obvious frustration, the spy's arm dropped back down. Making a seal with her hands, everyone tensed once again, waiting for more hand seals to follow. However, the spy immediately ground out a muttered 'release', causing everyone to appear confused once again since nothing about the spy's appearance - or anything else - changed.

Naruto, however, noticed Jiraiya's face go as white as his hair. Which meant it was something serious, and potentially deadly.

The spy slowly turned, and lowered her hood, exposing barely shoulder-length dark brown hair. She had chiseled features, and had two purple horizontal stripes; one on each cheek, though Naruto was unable to tell if they were painted on or were something else entirely.

The one thing that stood out the most, however, was her dark brown eyes. Even though they looked to be getting a bit watery, Naruto noticed them the most because they were currently staring at him so intensely that he felt a tingling sensation run up and down his spine. Hearing her speak again brought him back to his senses.

"Nice to finally meet you, Namikaze Naruto."

Everyone was standing wide-eyed in total stunned silence as she walked up to him, slowly and deliberately. Naruto tensed as she stuck out her hand, but saw that it was open, waiting for a handshake. He nodded slowly and grabbed the offered hand, to which she gave him a firm shake.

"My name is Rin. It seems we have a lot to discuss."

* * *

**Edited:** February 10th, 2010

Up next: Hysterics


	12. Hysterics

Chapter 12

The room was so quiet, Naruto could have sworn he heard a pin drop. Not one person in the room had spoken since they entered the 'command' building several minutes ago. Everyone's attention was on the woman who called herself Rin, though she was busy looking down at her hands which were resting on the table. She was probably trying to figure out where to start the discussion she mentioned to Naruto just moments ago.

Naruto took a few seconds to look around the sparse room in the recently constructed command building. Naruto had to admit that he was no architect, but with some guidance he thought he did a fairly decent job of constructing a sturdy shelter. With about fifty clones and some helpful advice from Genma, who's brother was a construction worker in Konoha, they had managed to get the building up in a little over a day.

There weren't really any windows, however, because they had no glass nor any money to waste on getting some. So Naruto had simply cut simple squares into the walls and attached shutters outside so that they could close the windows at night. The building itself only had two rooms, the main meeting room that they were in now, and a smaller office should a more private or official setting be required. Even the furnishings were rather sparse. They had packed tables, yet no chairs... so Naruto had constructed some simple benches for everyone to sit around the table.

He noticed Rin shift a little, and watched as she tapped the table briefly with one of her fingertips. She was looking at Jiraiya, apparently going to talk to him about something first. The Sennin, meanwhile, had his arms crossed and was rubbing his chin with one hand - his traditional thinking pose.

Other than those two, Sakura was the only other one present. Sai excused himself first, claiming that there were a few locations he scouted earlier that he wanted to paint, while Ino claimed she had to go clean up the items she left strewn about in the garden. The three ANBU had been assigned secondary objectives by the Hokage and had already been out working on them before Rin and Jiraiya arrived. Kakashi had explained that he was ordered to scout to the north and west of their current location for any villages, while Genma was to go back to Konoha and report that they had managed to set up a minimal base camp. Yuugao meanwhile explained that she was supposed to be scouting out areas to the south and east of their current location. This was mostly just to scout out any potential resources that could be used for the outpost, as well as asking around in the few scattered hamlets if anyone needed any work done.

Out of the corner of his eye he happened to notice Sakura's head turn slightly to look at him. He turned to meet her gaze, to which she gave him a quick smile. He grinned and winked at her, changing that quick little smile into a bigger one.

"You should stop thinking so hard, you old pervert. You might hurt yourself."

Naruto and Sakura's attention both quickly snapped to Rin, who finally spoke. Jiraiya's eyes went wide for a moment, before he started spluttering indignantly.

"W-What!? I... I haven't been a pervert in years! Now I'm a super pervert!"

A loud snort from Naruto and a small groan from Sakura was all the answer Rin needed. She gave the white haired man an evil grin and raised one of her eyebrows, as if to ask "Oh really?".

Jiraiya adopted a slightly abashed look for a few seconds before waving it off. "Fine. I was just thinking about your rather sudden appearance." Jiraiya leaned forward a bit over the table, letting both arms rest on top of it. "But what I'm extremely curious about... why were you gone and pretending to be dead for so long?"

Rin had a look of genuine confusion on her face. "Pretending to be dead? What are you talking about?"

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "There are three states of duty for Konoha shinobi. They are 'Active', 'Missing In Action', and 'Killed In Action'. Of those three, MIA is given out the least, because generally when a shinobi goes missing, it's intentional. So they just get branded as a nuke-nin. However, one day nearly sixteen years ago now, there was a fourth state of duty that was added which applies to that one day only."

Jiraiya paused for effect for a second before continuing. "It was 'Missing, Presumed Dead'. There were simply too many bodies that could not be found because they were instantly turned to ash or even completely disintegrated upon attacking Kyuubi."

Rin stiffened, and while Naruto was no expert in body language, he saw her jaw tense up and her hands clench up into fists. She managed to grind out a few words while keeping her jaw clenched tight, as well.

"You don't have to go into detail about the deaths, I witnessed enough with my own eyes."

Jiraiya simply nodded. "Your name is currently on the list of shinobi who are MPD."

Confusion returned to Rin's features. "But... I informed the Military Police as to what I was doing, which was standard procedure..."

One corner of Jiraiya's mouth twitched slightly. "Was it a medical issue?"

Rin nodded slowly. "I was helping a patient, and she desperately needed to leave Konoha. She had severe trauma, and was starting to suffer from hallucinations and panic attacks." She cast a glance at Naruto for a few seconds, then focused her gaze on the sannin once more. "Does he know about them? I remember the early talks, but I don't know if it was put into effect..."

Jiraiya gave her a slow nod as her sentence trailed off.

When it didn't seem like Rin was going to elaborate further, Naruto started to get frustrated.

"You don't have to act like I'm not here. Do I know what? What was put into effect?!" Even though he was focusing on Rin, he was vaguely aware of a cool hand resting on his arm. A simple gesture from Sakura, warning him not to get too worked up over some words from a stranger.

Rin's eyebrows raised at Naruto's quick outburst, and she spoke in a quiet voice. "I was wondering if you knew who your parents were. Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina."

Before Naruto could reply affirmatively, Jiraiya cut in. "You did call him Namikaze Naruto outside and he didn't ask why you called him that, remember?"

Rin paused and looked at Jiraiya for a moment, then nodded and turned back to Naruto. "I know he introduced himself as Uzumaki, I guess I just wanted to let him know that I knew."

Jiraiya simply nodded and let the topic drop. Rin cast a quick glance at Sakura, then aimed her piercing gaze at Naruto once more.

"The day I left Konoha, the morning after the Kyuubi attack, I took a patient with me who was mentally unstable."

Rin gave another look to each member in the room before resting on Naruto once again.

"That patient was your mother, Kushina. She's still alive, Naruto."

* * *

"... and that is your assignment."

Kiba idly scratched behind one of Akamaru's ears as he stared at the Hokage. "Uh, with all due respect Hokage-sama, I'm a shinobi, not a construction worker."

Kiba heard Hinata faintly mutter his name as the Godaime Hokage gave him an icy cold stare. "It is better to have many talents instead of simply staying one-dimensional. Besides that, I doubt Naruto will have you work on construction that much, since he knows how to manipulate his Kage Bunshin so well."

Hinata gave a small smile while Shino nodded imperceptibly. However, Kiba was still frowning.

"There's another thing. Why the heck does he get to give me orders? We graduated from the Academy at the same time!"

Akamaru whined and put his head down to the ground, paws covering his face. Kiba frowned at the action. "What? I just don't think it's right, thats all!"

Tsunade cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention. "He can because he is a higher rank than you. Age and graduation years do not matter in the least. To put it into perspective... Kakashi was an ANBU captain by the age of 14, and he was in command of people nearly three times his age."

Kiba stood there, mouth agape, until he heard Hinata giggling. He turned and looked at her, frowning. Before either could say anything, however, there was a quick knock on the door, followed by it opening and a head peeking inside.

"Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes, Shizune?"

"Genma has arrived, he's waiting outside."

"Good timing. Send him in."

"Hai."

All present in the room heard a quick exchange of words outside, followed by Genma walking into the room. He looked different to the three chuunin in the room since he was dressed in civilian clothes, but the ever-present senbon in his mouth gave away who he was to friends almost immediately. He walked up to the Hokage's desk and gave a brief bow.

"Hokage-sama."

Tsunade simply nodded at him. "Report."

Genma began speaking almost immediately, as if he had been preparing a speech his entire trip back.

"We've gotten a location and have settled down a little less than 2 kilometers outside of the ruins. Kakashi and Yuugao are currently out scouting the area, as ordered. Sai has been tasked with hunting and fishing when necessary to get food, and sometimes helps Naruto with construction. Ino has been starting a garden as another food source. Sakura has been doing her best to get all of our supplies organized for immediate placement once we have set up enough of a base foundation."

Genma paused for a moment, letting Tsunade absorb all the information. After a few seconds, she nodded. "What about Naruto?"

Genma scratched at the side of his neck, and gave a small chuckle, causing one of Tsunade's eyebrows to arch upward. "Well, to be blunt, the kid has been nothing short of amazing the past few days. He's an incredibly hard worker, and a great taskmaster. He had given everyone their assignments by the end of our first day, including a proposed daily schedule to follow. His clones are simply remarkable because he can make so many of them... he had the medical building completely finished in just under two days."

Kiba whistled in amazement, causing everyone to look at him, while Genma gave him a grin.

"My brother is in construction, so I know some tricks of the trade to make sure that buildings don't fall down as soon as the wind picks up. I only had to give him some instructions and pointers, and he absorbed everything I told him like a sponge. I think we're going to do just fine."

Tsunade smiled. "Good. The moment you all left I put out a call for various artisans and professionals within the village and the surrounding area. Upon receiving a positive progress report, the civilian council had agreed to pay wages for the first three months for some craftsmen to help build a respectable outpost. Any longer than that, and Naruto will have to find a way to pay them, unless they volunteer to stay. On top of that, the council is willing to sponsor anyone who would like to start a business near the outpost there. So long as it is 'within reason', they say. However they neglected to say what exactly they consider reasonable, so we'll just have to find out later."

As Tsunade paused, Genma quickly edged in a comment. "It sounds as if we're trying to start up a new village, not just build a fort."

The Hokage nodded. "We're giving it the opportunity to become that, certainly. Fire and Whirlpool used to be excellent trade partners just about twenty years ago... the two countries were even closer than we are with Wind right now."

It was Hinata who asked the next question, much to the surprise of those present.

"So what happened?"

Tsunade looked at Hinata, and gave her a sad smile. "I only know bits and pieces, all other records of Whirlpool have been destroyed, and I don't know why. All I can tell you right now is that the Uzumaki come from Whirlpool. That is another reason why Naruto is there. I'm hoping he can find out more."

The Hokage opened one of her drawers, grabbing a scroll that was sitting on top. Making sure she had Genma's attention, she tossed the scroll to him. "That is for Naruto. It contains everything I just told you, plus a little more."

After Genma nodded, she turned her attention to the old Team 8. "Hinata, Kiba... you two will be on hold from missions until Naruto comes to report in, and you will return with him as we discussed previously. Understood?"

Hinata nodded and gave the Hokage a smile, while Kiba did the same, however with a rather sour looking expression. He decided to keep his mouth shut this time.

"Shino, you will be heading to Shikamaru's outpost near Rain, as we also discussed. Have your kikai been able to map the route for you yet?.

Shino gave a barely noticeable nod. "They should have my route planned in the next few minutes, Hokage-sama."

"Good, when you get there, instruct Yamato to take his team and swap with Kakashi's for the next month. I want both teams to scout and know the area surrounding both outposts." She turned her attention to Genma. "Let Kakashi know to expect Yamato in approximately two days. He will depart when Yamato's team arrives. Yamato will stay with Naruto for one month, then they will swap back."

Tsunade glanced between them both once more. "Got it?"

They both nodded, choosing to keep silent.

"Good. I expect you all to be gone no later than tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

The four shinobi present all gave a quick bow, then slowly walked towards the door. Kiba started mumbling something to Hinata, but Tsunade couldn't hear anything other than the girl giggling.

No sooner than they had all left, Shizune entered the room and closed the door softly behind her.

"How is Naruto-kun doing?"

Tsunade focused her attention on Shizune for the first time. "According to Genma, he's doing superbly. Not that I expected any less."

Shizune chuckled a little, bringing her hands up to her mouth in the process. Tsunade finally took notice of the handful of papers she had in one hand.

"I hope that isn't more crap for me to approve."

Shizune looked confused for a brief second, before she remembered the sheets of paper in her hand.

"Oh! No, the period for requisitions is complete, and the Academy just let out for its second quarter break. These are actually responses for the civilian job offers you put out."

"Really? Looks like a nicely sized stack there."

Shizune nodded emphatically. "Yes! These are the fifteen applications I've been able to go over so far. I still have another group of twenty or so that I haven't had a chance to look through yet."

Tsunade held her hand out, and Shizune handed the applications over. She started flipping through them all casually, just to see what positions could potentially be filled so far.

"One thing I was amazed about... almost half of those applicants give one reason for wanting the job is because Naruto-kun is leading."

Tsunade looked up at Shizune for a second, completely stunned. She then quickly looked back down to the stack of papers, checking each one for their reasons.

"Amazing... I had no idea..." Tsunade was quickly flipping through each one, and Shizune wasn't sure if Tsunade was talking to herself or if she wanted a comment.

Shizune nodded, even though Tsunade wasn't looking at her. "It seems that Naruto-kun's dream is starting to come true. People are beginning to respect him.

If Tsunade heard, she didn't acknowledge. She continued flipping through the stack until she got to the last one. After she finished, she set them all in a neat stack and leaned back in her chair.

"Hire the ones that stated they are doing it because of Naruto immediately. Bring the others in for interviews."

"H-hire them right away, Tsunade-sama? Is that wise?"

Tsunade looked at Shizune with a raised eyebrow. "They'll be going there because of him, so I don't see why they wouldn't mind taking orders or instruction from him. If they turn out to be problematic, Naruto could always fire them. He is the boss, after all."

Shizune sighed as she grabbed the stack from the Hokage's desk.

"You don't agree?"

Shizune paused for a moment as she turned towards the door.

"It's not that I don't agree. I'm just worried for Naruto-kun's safety. What if someone is lying just to get to him?"

"Then that's a risk we have to take. Naruto is a big boy, and proved he can handle himself. He is a jounin now, after all. We have to believe in him."

Shizune was biting her bottom lip, but she nodded at Tsunade once again. "Alright. I want to believe in him."

That said, the young medi-nin walked through the doorway, leaving Tsunade alone in her office.

As much as she was amazed by Naruto's progress, she hoped she could hand over the reigns of the entire project to him soon. All this paperwork was giving her a serious headache.

She briefly considered going to another doctor to check and see if she was allergic to work, but in the end decided against it and reached for her bottle of sake. She frowned as she grabbed it, not recognizing the shape of the bottle.

She suddenly remembered what it was, and pulled the bottle out. Naruto said when he got back from his latest travels with Jiraiya that he had gotten her a present, but that it was glass and he had to mail it so it wouldn't break if he got into a fight. She had passed it off as him being cute to get out of trouble, but it seemed that he was true to his word. The package had just arrived yesterday, and she was thrilled to find that it was a unique brand of sake that was distilled only in Grass Country. Not only that, but it was considered contraband there, so he must have had an interesting time smuggling it out of the country.

Pouring herself a glass and turning in her chair to look out the window behind her, she wondered what exactly Naruto was doing right now.

* * *

Naruto was thinking his heart was going to burst from his ribcage, it was beating so hard and fast.

His mother... was alive? This woman... Rin... knew where she was?!

Jiraiya was wide-eyed and staring at Rin, while Sakura looked more worried for Naruto's well-being than anything else.

Naruto's mind was going a mile a minute. Questions were coming faster and faster, too fast for his mouth to even hope to catch up.

Why did she leave?

Is she okay now?

What trauma did she suffer?

Where is she?

Why didn't she look for him?

"Naruto!"

The teen blinked a few times, and gradually became aware that everyone was looking at him expectantly.

"W-What?"

Rin's normally ice-cold gaze seemed warmer now, for some reason. It didn't send chills down his spine this time.

"I asked if you were okay. You looked like you were going into shock."

Naruto frowned, then looked at the table and let out a big sigh.

"Sorry. I just... had a lot of questions pop into my head and I was trying to think of which one to ask first."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Naruto turned to look to his left, where Sakura was sitting. She had been quiet the whole time, content to just sit silently next to him as a pillar of support.

He gave her a crooked grin to reassure her, but it did very little to ease the worry that was plainly evident on her face.

"I'll be fine, Sakura-chan. It's just some pretty big news for me."

Her mouth twitched, she wasn't sure if she should frown or smile, so she settled for a small nod and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. He gave her a quick smile, then turned his attention back to Rin.

"What happened?"

Rin's mouth pressed into a grim line briefly before she started speaking. "When we left Konoha, it was horrible. She was physically exhausted having just come from childbirth but a few hours earlier, and had apparently been running all over Konoha before I found her staring blankly at a wall in her house."

Rin sighed, looking at Naruto but not really seeing him, as if she was looking into the past which was right behind him. "She had various cuts and bruises all over her hands and lower legs, she was incoherent for the most part and walking into things. She was babbling nonsense for a while, and when I finally got her to come to her senses, she just kept repeating over and over that she had to leave. She was completely adamant about it. Fanatically so."

"I did what I could for her then, and informed the Military Police that we would be leaving due to my patient's medical issues. I got clearance, helped Kushina pack a few things, and we took off. My old clan had safehouses scattered throughout Fire Country, but I only knew the location of one... near the Rice Field Country border. That's where we've been for the last fifteen or so years. It was an optimal location for me to be able to spy on Orochimaru, as I later discovered."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, letting it all sink in.

"What is her condition now?"

Naruto looked at Sakura in surprise, he wasn't expecting her to ask anything, and even with the mention of Orochimaru, she didn't even flinch or comment about Sasuke. Maybe...

Mentally slapping himself, he instead considered the kind of question she had asked. With it's medical connotations, the surprise shifted quickly to interest in the answer.

"For the most part, she's fine now. We spar on a regular basis so she can keep in shape and I can get some training in. She's a lot quieter than she used to be, and I think I can count on one hand how many times I've seen her smile since we left Konoha. Once we left the village, she had hallucinations for a little while, but I managed to cure those. I tried dragging her back to Konoha a few times as well, but every time we'd start getting close, she'd have nonstop panic attacks until we left. I haven't tried taking her back again in five years or so."

Sakura nodded. "So it sounds like she's physically fine and mentally stable now?"

Rin looked at the pink haired girl. "Yes." There was a brief pause, and Rin asked a quesion this time. "Are you a medi-nin?"

Sakura nodded, and gave Rin a little wave and a small smile. "Haruno Sakura, combat medic, and apprentice to the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade-sama."

Rin's eyes went wide as saucers. "Wow, that's quite the resume. It's been a long time since I've gotten any medic training. Maybe you could give me a refresher sometime?"

Sakura looked surprised at the question for a moment before she gave another smile. "Sure. As soon as we've figured out the situation between Naruto and his mother."

Rin nodded and was going to say something else, but Jiraiya cut her off. "So why did you think Naruto was dead?"

Looking at Jiraiya, Rin frowned before she answered. "It's what I was told. Kushina told me she saw both Naruto and her partner... dead. Their bodies. She's had some medi-nin training too, though not to my degree, but she still should have been able to tell easily. I've tried asking her about it, but as soon as she starts remembering she goes catatonic. The trauma was so bad that her mind literally shuts down when she tries to remember."

Everyone was silent again for a few moments. Naruto couldn't help but be worried... he wanted to meet her, but what if her mind couldn't handle the fact that he was alive after believing him dead for so long?

"Do you want to go meet her?"

Naruto's eyes went wide, Rin asked exactly what he was thinking. "Of course I do... but do you think it would be safe?"

Rin looked confused. "What do you mean? No one has found us in fifteen years."

Naruto shook his head. "I mean for her health. She's believed I was dead for these last fifteen years... and then suddenly finds out I'm alive? Do you think she can handle it?"

Rin seemed to ponder it for a moment, though Sakura answered in her stead. "I think it will be fine, Naruto. Her mental problems seem to be self-inflicted from what I'm able to understand. It seems like her mind is doing it so that she doesn't have to feel the pain of losing her partner and son over and over by remembering it. If she sees you... it might actually cure that problem."

"I agree." Rin nodded at Sakura, then looked at Naruto. "I think your girlfriend hit the nail on the head."

Almost immediately the air in the room became tense, Naruto and Sakura looked at each other quickly, blushed, then looked the other way.

"Uhm... Sakura-chan and I haven't really talked about that yet..."

Sakura, while nodding in agreement with Naruto, was surprisingly quiet. If she was going to say anything, Jiraiya beat her to it. "No offense to either of you, but that discussion is rather irrelevant at this moment."

Naruto and Sakura both turned crimson at his remark, and seemed to shrink down on the bench they were sitting on. Tense silence followed for a few moments, which left Jiraiya wondering if maybe he was a bit too harsh. Rin broke the silence by standing up and making a lot of noise as she stretched. When she was done, she looked at Naruto. He was slowly regaining his composure and looked like he wanted to ask another question, but was holding himself back.

"So Naruto... when should we go meet her?"

Naruto's eyes started to widen, and he started to stand up, but Jiraiya stopped him before he could say or do anything.

The white haired man turned slightly to look at Rin. "She should probably see me first. Perhaps if she sees someone from Konoha before she sees Naruto, it might soften the blow. Good or bad."

Rin appeared to mull over Jiraiya's offer for several moments as everyone waited for her answer. With a heavy sigh, she nodded her head. "You're right. It would probably be safer that way. Even though she might kill me."

That confused everyone, but she held up a hand to stop any impending questions. "It's pointless for me to explain what I mean. She wouldn't really kill me. I hope."

She focused on Naruto. "Are you ready to go?"

Naruto got up so fast that he almost knocked Sakura off the bench. He tossed her a quick apology, then turned to Rin with confident grin. "You'd better believe it. When can we leave?"

Rin shrugged. "Now is fine." She turned to look at Jiraiya. "Unless anyone has other plans?"

Jiraiya shook his head, and started to stand as well. "I can go now."

Naruto nodded and looked at his... almost girlfriend. "Sakura-chan, you want to come?"

Sakura looked conflicted, and didn't seem to want to look Naruto in the eye.

Naruto was definitely concerned, and managed to grab the attention of Rin and Jiraiya, who looked on with curiosity. "What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"

The girl sighed, and finally looked at him. "I really want to go, but I think I should stay here. You'll be meeting your mom for the first time, and I don't want to be a distraction." She managed a small smile. "Besides, who else can keep Ino, Sai, and that pervert Kakashi-sensei in line?"

There was a small gasp from the other side of the table, and everyones attention quickly focused on Rin.

"Did you just say Kakashi... sensei?"

Sakura nodded slowly as Jiraiya's, and surprisingly Naruto's faces betrayed no emotion, nor curiosity.

"Wow, I can't believe he... wait..." Rin waved her hand dismissively. "We've got more important things to attend to right now. You guys can answer my questions later."

Everyone nodded, and Naruto turned to Sakura one last time as Jiraiya and Rin headed for the door.

"Thanks, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened momentarily as Naruto looked at her seriously. He even dropped the ever-present suffix from her name... she hoped it was to show how much he really appreciated her. So she smiled at him.

"You're welcome, Naruto."

Naruto smiled back, but for some reason couldn't move. Jiraiya and Rin had since left the building, so the two of them were alone.

"Naruto..."

The voice was soft, so at first he didn't where it was coming from. It took a second for him to realize that it had actually come from the person standing in front of him.

"Is something wrong?"

Sakura shook her head, then looked up and gave him a big smile. She grabbed the bottom of his vest suddenly, surprising him, then fumbled around for a little bit as she tried to line up the zipper. Finally getting it, she zipped his vest up most of the way.

"Be strong, Naruto. If something goes wrong and she flips out, you need to be strong, okay?"

She was staring him right in the eyes as she spoke, completely unwavering. He knew it deserved a serious response, so he gave the most serious one he could think of at the time.

"I will. It's a promise."

Sakura just gave him a big smile, then caught him totally offguard once again. She grabbed both sides of his vest collar with her hands, pulled him down a little, and smashed her lips against his. Naruto was totally unprepared, his eyes were wide and his mind went totally blank.

The beginning of the kiss was a little awkward, Sakura was trying but Naruto was much too surprised to respond.

Three seconds into the kiss, he started to respond, slowly closing his eyes.

Seven seconds into the kiss, he felt her arms go around his neck as her tongue probed for entry, his arms slowly started snaking around her back.

Eleven seconds into the kiss, their tongues were playing tonsil tag, her hand was starting to slide into the hair on the back of his head, as his arms started squeezing her tighter.

Fourteen seconds into the kiss, _scritch... scritch scritch scritch... scritch scritch_...

Seventeen seconds into the kiss, Sakura pulled back, her face glowing red. She mumbled a quick 'Good Luck', then turned and bolted for the door.

Eight seconds post-kiss, Naruto was standing there with a blank look on his face, and was awoken by a beautiful voice screaming _**'pervert!' **_followed by the painful howl of an elderly man.

* * *

Just under two hours into their trip, Rin jumped down from a tree to the forest floor, holding up her hand as a signal to stop. Naruto and Jiraiya both dropped down next to her.

"We're here. The cottage is right up ahead, near where the trees start to thin out a little."

Both Naruto and Jiraiya nodded, the latter still rubbing the side of his jaw where Sakura hit him. They jogged along the forest floor for another three minutes, until the cabin became clearly visible. It was rather simple looking, and completely generic. It was supposed to be a safehouse, supposedly, so there was no reason for it to stick out. It appeared to be in good shape, so it obviously was well maintained. There were a few scattered plant beds in various places around the house... giving Naruto some small confirmation that his mother was here. Unless, of course, Rin happened to be a gardener too.

Naruto felt his heartbeat grow strong once again as they came closer to the front door. As they stopped at the entrance, Rin turned around and looked at Jiraiya, then Naruto.

"Jiraiya is going to follow me in first. Since it's evening Kushina is probably going to be in the kitchen making dinner. I don't want to scare her too bad, so until I call for you, don't let yourself be seen. She's probably already detected more than one person here and is likely on guard inside."

Both men nodded at the female medic, who took a deep breath, the unlocked and opened the front door.

"Kushina! I'm back!"

"Welcome back... I'm making dinner. Is there someone else with you?"

To Naruto, hearing his mothers voice made his quickly beating heart skip a beat. He couldn't remember the last time he was this nervous. Her voice was beautiful; it sounded so gentle he tried to imagine what she looked like without even seeing her.

"Yes, actually. We'll come greet you in the kitchen."

"Oh, alright. I'm actually in the dining room grabbing a tray to put dinner on. I'll meet you there."

Rin glanced at Jiraiya, then motioned for him to follow. He nodded and they both stepped inside.

There were several seconds of maddening silence. The only sound Naruto heard was the thumping of his heart.

"J-Jiraiya!" The startled shout made Naruto jump a little, involuntarily.

"Hello, Kushina-chan. Long time no see."

There were a few more seconds of silence, followed by an angry shout that Naruto was not expecting.

"Rin! Why is he here!? You promised me! You promised!"

"I know I did, I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

"But you promised me!"

"Kushina! Please calm down! I have a good reason! Please let me explain!

"I can't believe this... this wasn't supposed to happen!"

Naruto was starting to panic... his mother sounded like she was going to be hysterical.

"Kushina! Please, listen to me! I have an explanation! Please..."

"This... had better be good..."

Naruto felt like his heart was going to leap up out of his throat. He really, really wanted to meet her... but she sounded pretty bad right now...

"It's very good. I think it might make everything okay again." There was a brief pause, then, "Alright, come on in!"

Naruto steeled himself, and began to put one foot in front of the other. Slowly moving forward, he moved in the direction that he last heard Rin's voice from. Through the front door, and down a brief hallway; he walked through an arched doorway, into a room that was definitely a kitchen.

He saw Jiraiya, and he saw Rin. They both saw him come in, and he saw a small smile appear on Jiraiya's face. Near them stood a woman who had her back to him. She seemed a few inches shorter than him, and from what he could see, she was rather slim. Her deep red hair was tied into a single loose ponytail that traveled all the way down to the small of her back.

She must have seen Jiraiya and Rin looking at him, because she slowly turned around to face the newcomer. The first thing he saw was a slight scowl marring her face, but as soon as she saw him, it almost instantly turned into one of shock.

Vibrant green eyes opened wide, and her mouth opened slightly. He heard her gasp... it was the only sound in the entire room, and it was so loud to him it might as well have been thunder.

For once in his life, Naruto was totally speechless. He had no boast, no declaration of victory, no pouty exclamation. No cheer, no sob, no scream. So he did the only thing that he could think of, the only thing a boy seeing his mother for the first time, ever, could do.

He tried to speak, his mouth was completely dry. It barely came out a whisper.

"Hi... mom."

She heard it.

The tray hit the floor.

* * *

**Edited:** February 10th, 2010

Up next: October Tenth


	13. October Tenth

Chapter 13

_**"No!"**_

A bloodcurdling shriek was the absolute last thing Naruto expected. He stumbled backward a step, completely startled at the outburst. Jiraiya and Rin didn't fare much better, the former's face was one of pure shock and confusion, while the latter was startled so bad she suddenly grabbed onto the nearest chair for some kind of support.

"You can't be here! You're not alive! I saw! I saw you! You were dead! Dead!"

Naruto placed his hand on the wall next to him to keep his balance, unable to believe what he was hearing. She thought he was dead? But he was right here, alive, wasn't he?

Kushina's face was going through a myriad of emotions, from shock, to horror, and finally settling on one of pure rage. Not giving Naruto another glance, she whirled on Jiraiya and pointed a finger directly in his face.

"You! I don't see you in fifteen years, and you do this?! What is it, some kind of genjutsu? Do you think this is funny?!"

Jiraiya's shocked look still hadn't left his face, and he was blinking rapidly, unable to process the words that Kushina was saying; what she was accusing him of. He started stuttering out a reply, but Kushina didn't give him a chance, shifting her rage to Rin next.

"Rin! What kind of sick joke is this?! You knew... you know I can't remember them! I break down! What do you think is going to happen to me seeing him right there! He's dead! For so long... dead for so long..."

Kushina brought her hands up to her face, choking on words, if she was even still trying to speak. Her shoulders started trembling terribly.

Rin quickly regained her senses, quickly moving up and placing both hands firmly on Kushina's shoulders. "Kushina. Listen to me. Please."

Kushina removed her hands from her face to look at Rin, but she didn't lower them. Rin's mouth was set in a grim line, trying to tell Kushina how serious she was not only in words, but also in body language. Naruto could not see Kushina's face to figure out what emotion she was feeding off of at the moment, her back was to him once again.

"Your... son... is... alive. Right there." She gestured with her head to where Naruto was standing.

Kushina jerked sharply, then forcefully shoved both of Rin's hands off her shoulders by opening her arms and pushing them outward against Rin's.

"Why do you keep lying to me? What did I do for you to put me through this torture?!"

Rin looked absolutely flabbergasted for a second, before she too started looking angry.

"Lies?! Torture?!" She lifted a hand swiftly and pointed at Naruto. Kushina swiftly moved back a step from Rin's arm, almost as if she thought the younger woman was going to hit her. "Look at him, Kushina! Look at his face! See what your constant denial is doing to him!"

Kushina slowly looked over her shoulder at the young man standing in the doorway. Naruto knew his face looked full of anguish, it's exactly what he was feeling. His mother was right there, in front of him... no more than five or six quick steps away, but yet she continued to deny his existence.

It hurt more than any punch or kick he took as a child from an inebriated villager.

It hurt more than any wound he had taken on any mission.

It hurt more than a chidori snapping his ribs and punching clean through his right lung.

He watched his mother's face go through yet another series of emotions, finally settling on something that probably looked exactly what was on his face.

Complete, utter sorrow...despair... anguish.

"Oh Kami... no... no... this isn't happening. No no _no no no __**no no**_!" Her voice broke at the end, she tried to scramble away but stumbled over the tray she dropped earlier. It immediately looked like she was going to fall, but somehow she managed to get her balance back and made a dash for the doorway. She narrowly missed colliding with the wall as she stumbled into the next room, sobbing and moaning 'no' over and over again the entire way.

Quickly snapping out of her stupor, Rin gave both Jiraiya and Naruto a quick look and spoke quickly. "Shit, this could be bad. Let me handle it." Making her own dash for the door, she yelled out Kushina's name on the way.

Naruto watched her run through the doorway, and tried to make his own run for the room. But Jiraiya was faster, coming up behind the teen and wrapping a strong arm around his torso.

He started speaking in a harsh whisper. "Naruto!"

Naruto started speaking back in a whisper as well, but totally unaware he was doing it. His concentration was centered on that nearby doorway."L-Let me go Ero-sennin! I have to go to her!"

"No! Wait, let Rin handle it!"

"But-"

Jiraiya interrupted him, knowing Naruto would try to make an excuse. "Listen to me! Rin has been living with Kushina for the last fifteen years! No one knows how to handle your mother better than her! Just be patient for a few more seconds, all right?"

Naruto desperately wanted to fight back and run to his mother. Even though he had only just met her, he hated seeing anyone in any kind of pain when they didn't deserve it. It's just the type of person he was. After a few more seconds of reaching for the door, logic managed to smash its way into Naruto's thought processes, and he slowly stopped resisting. Even in peak condition and with a keenly aware mind, Naruto could never beat his sensei in a fair sparring match. As muddled as his mind and concentration was now, there was no way he'd get away without drawing on Kyuubi and totally wrecking the place. His shoulders slumped and he stared longingly at the door. Jiraiya relaxed his hold on the boy, but didn't release him... just in case.

Instead of fighting, Naruto tried listening in on the noises, or any sign of conversation in the next room. He couldn't hear as much as he wished to with Jiraiya breathing heavily near one of his ears, but he could make out what sounded like muffled sobbing and someone talking quietly. Unfortunately Naruto couldn't understand any of it. He briefly considered enhancing his hearing slightly, but as soon as he started preparing his chakra, what happened last time he enhanced his hearing popped into his mind. With a frown on his face, he stopped preparing the chakra, and let out a deep sigh. It wouldn't do for Rin have to worry about healing his ears in case something happened, and still try to take care of his mother. If something happened to him now, his mother might go off the deep end. She was already having a hard enough time, and he had only said two words. Not that he could think of anything else to say in a situation like this.

"Kid, come here."

Naruto blinked as Jiraiya released him. He wasn't sure if he had heard correctly, even though Jiraiya had let him go. He turned to look over his shoulder at his godfather, not sure if he heard correctly.

Jiraiya just gave the boy a gentle smile, and gestured toward the doorway.

Giving a small nod, Naruto licked his lips and slowly moved towards the other room. He wasn't sure if it would be wise to walk in and stand in the doorway like he did last time. Placing a hand on the wall near the door, he leaned over a bit so that only his head and part of his shoulder was visible as he looked into the next room.

Quickly scanning it with his eyes, ingrained ninja training kicked in and he cataloged everything his eyes came across. The room itself had a rather simple layout, a few nondescript comfortable looking chairs, a couch, a large dining table in the center of the room and another small round table in the corner with a potted plant sitting on it.

"Step inside, but stay there."

His eyes swiftly settled on Rin, and he nodded once at her. Pushing back away from the wall, he moved through the doorway and stepped inside the room. After two steps beyond the door he stopped, examining the situation Rin and his mother were in. Rin was looking at him to make sure he didn't come any further into the room, and was kneeling down next to Kushina who was also on her knees. She had one arm wrapped against the older woman's shoulders, both offering support and keeping her in place. Kushina was on her knees as well, leaning awkwardly into Rin's embrace. She once again had her face buried in her hands, though her shoulders were no longer shaking.

Naruto was keeping most of his attention on Rin, awaiting further instruction. Rin gave him a small smile as she noticed his worried glance continuously flicker back towards his mother.

"I need you to do whatever she or I asks of you, got it? I've told her that I believe you're going to be the cure for the problem she's had all these years, and I've managed to convince her to give it a try. Okay?"

Naruto simply nodded, afraid that speaking up might startle his mother in some way. He wanted to talk to her so badly...

"Kushina, look up."

The red haired woman slowly removed her hands from her face and set them down on her lap. Slowly looking up, she spotted Naruto in front of them, standing in the doorway. Naruto tried to adopt a pose that seemed to be as relaxing and non-threatening as possible, yet he still saw his mother flinch and go rigid in Rin's arms.

"Kushina, relax. I'm going to try the thing I told you about, then it will be your turn. Do you understand?"

Kushina appeared to relax ever so slightly, and she gave an imperceptible nod. But her puffy, bloodshot eyes remained glued to Naruto the entire time.

Rin made a sign with her free hand. She closed her eyes and her brow creased in concentration for a few seconds.

"**Kai**!"

Naruto looked at Rin, confused as to what she was doing. He noticed Rin give him a small smile, then she turned slightly to talk to Kushina again.

"Look, it didn't do anything. He's still there, and very real. Why don't you try, if you want to make sure?"

The corner of Kushina's mouth twitched slightly just before Naruto watched her bring one of her hands up and repeat the sign that Rin made seconds ago. Unlike Rin, however, she was quiet and concentrating for nearly an entire minute.

"**Kai**!"

Naruto had been thinking she'd never say it, and let out a breath of relief. He hadn't even realized that he'd been holding his breath all this time.

"Well, Kushina? Do you believe he's real now?"

Rin was looking at Kushina expectantly, while the older woman's face had once again returned to staring at the young blond boy. He didn't mind being looked at, it was definitely better than being ignored like he was for most of his early childhood. But something about the way she was looking at him made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Come here."

It took Naruto a second to realize that his mother had just spoken, and then another few seconds to realize that she was talking to him. As he nodded and started slowly walking over to them, Rin pointed to a spot on the ground in front of Kushina. Close enough to be able to reach out and touch her if he wanted to, but still far enough apart as to not intrude on her personal space.

He went down on one knee in the spot that Rin had pointed out. His shinobi training had once again left an involuntary marking on him - only get down on one knee when facing the unknown. It is much easier to push off from the ground in an emergency when the bottom of one foot is still touching it.

Kushina watched every move he made with rapt attention. Once he reached his position in front of her, there was an extended period of silence. Naruto thought everyone was holding their breath considering how quiet the room was.

His mother finally broke contact and looked at Rin, seeming like she was unsure, or looking for support. Rin simply gave the woman a smile and a nod. "This is your time. Go on. He's waiting to prove who he is to you."

Kushina looked back to Naruto, her mouth set in a grim line, looking unsure. She looked down for a few seconds, then fixed her posture and sat up properly on her knees. With a sigh, she looked back up at Naruto. "Can I ask you some questions?"

Naruto nodded quickly. "Anything."

Her eyes opened a little at hearing his voice again, louder this time. She quickly got over it and asked the first question.

"What is your occupation?"

Naruto made up his mind to answer every question as accurately and succinctly as possible. "Shinobi."

The corner of Kushina's mouth quirked upward slightly, and she folded her arms under her chest. She looked away from Naruto and towards a window on the far side of the room. She spoke softly, as if confirming something to herself. "I always knew my son would be a shinobi. Even before he was born."

There was another minute of silence before Kushina turned to Naruto again.

"If you're a shinobi, that means you have a registration ID. What is it?"

Naruto rattled it off, having memorized it long ago. "Zero one two six zero seven."

Kushina nodded, and instantly tossed the next question. "What's your rank?"

"Tokubetsu Jounin."

There was another brief moment where she simply sat and stared at him, and he became aware that her eyes were getting redder and redder, and her speech was becoming more difficult to understand.

"Do... do you know the names of your parents?"

Naruto gave her a small smile, but he didn't know if she paid any attention to it. "Yes. There's you... Uzumaki Kushina. My father was the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato."

Kushina's eyes were getting wet with unshed tears, but she still kept Naruto's gaze and asked one more.

"What day is your birthday?"

Naruto sighed, briefly remembering the trouble he had gotten into for some of his birthdays, even though he had done nothing. In fact, until he met Yuugao-chan, most of his birthdays were spent alone.

"October tenth."

Something flashed in Kushina's eyes that he had not seen yet so far.

Hope.

It was noticeable as soon as it appeared, her entire complexion seemed to brighten considerably, though simple tears were steadily beginning to fall from her eyes. Naruto felt his own eyes misting, he was happy, yet things were still bittersweet. It had been 15 years after all.

Kushina tentatively stuck her hand out. Naruto saw what she was doing and stretched one of his arms and hand out towards her, palm up, so she could touch it. One of her fingers brushed against Naruto's fingertips briefly before she shuddered and qickly yanked her hand away. He could obviously see that she was trying to make sure that he did actually exist, in her own way. But something was wrong...

_Sakura shook her head, then looked up and gave him a big smile. She grabbed the bottom of his vest suddenly, surprising him, then fumbled around for a little bit as she tried to line up the zipper. Finally getting it, she zipped his vest up most of the way._

_"Be strong, Naruto. If something goes wrong and she flips out, you need to be strong, okay?"_

_She was staring him right in the eyes as she spoke, completely unwavering. He knew it deserved a serious response, so he gave the most serious one he could think of at the time._

_"I will. It's a promise."_

Naruto looked down to the ground briefly as he remembered the words he had shared with Sakura no more than two hours ago. In an instant, he knew what he needed to do.

He looked up at his mother, hoping to catch her gaze, but she was busy looking at his outstretched hand. Her hand was still hovering nearby, trying to decide if she wanted to take that final step and believe.

"Mom."

Her face immediately snapped up to look at his, eyes wide, hand unmoving.

Naruto slowly moved his other hand behind his neck, resting it there, and gave her the biggest grin he could. "It's going to be strange having my real mom around now, but I'll be strong enough for both of us. It's the promise of a lifetime!"

After several seconds of no response, he started to get worried. Looking carefully, he watched Kushina close her eyes.

Her teeth were clenched.

Tears suddenly began streaming down her face, unabated.

She let out a suppressed sob that sounded like a hiccup, and opened her eyes. She suddenly reached forward with both hands, grasping Naruto's that he had been holding out to her the entire time. Naruto watched as she cried, feeling his own tears forming in his eyes as his mother slowly rubbed his hand with hers, confirming that he was, in fact, real.

"Oh Kami... you're real." She choked back another sob, grasping onto his hand like it was a lifeline. "You're real... you're real... you're alive..." She was repeating the same things over and over, affixed to two phrases as if she was trying to reassure herself.

Naruto's tears were running down his own face now, both from relief and happiness. He made up his mind that there was one more thing he had to say... even though he just met this woman - his mother... he immediately felt the urge... the need... the desire... to make her proud. They had only met for five minutes, but already her acknowledgment was something he craved more than anything before. He sniffed and cleared his throat, which gained her attention. She was still holding tightly onto his hand and arm now, and had somehow managed to drag him a little closer to her while he was thinking, since his knee that was on the ground was bumping into hers.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Believe it." He gave her another grin through the tears streaming down his face. "It's nice to finally meet you, mom."

No sooner had he finished, the woman cried out his name and literally crashed into him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started crying hysterically into his shoulder and neck. He managed to keep his balance thanks to his posture, and returned the hug, holding her tight.

Naruto was vaguely aware of Rin getting up and leaving the room, probably to give them some time alone. Kushina was still wrapped up in a hug with her son, and apparently never wanted to let go. Naruto didn't mind, after missing fifteen years of hugs, he'd hug her however long she wanted.

* * *

Many, many long minutes later, Kushina's sobbing finally stopped, and she managed to peel herself away from Naruto's grip. She sat back on her knees again, right in front of him, wiping her eyes and nose. Naruto started to do the same though most of his tears dried before she finally pulled away.

Looking at him after she cleaned up her face, her eyes widened briefly, then she gave the smallest of grins. "I'm sorry about making a mess out of your jacket."

Naruto didn't quite understand what she meant at first, but then looked at his shoulder where she was pointing. It was completely drenched. Naruto just shrugged and chuckled. "It will dry."

Kushina gave him a small smile. "That it will." She quickly looked around the room. "It seems Rin got tired of listening to me cry, and left us here."

Naruto looked around the room as well. "Yeah, it does seem that way."

"Well, I didn't want to interrupt your bonding moment." Rin must have heard her name, she walked through the doorway from the kitchen as soon as Naruto finished talking.

Kushina just nodded at the younger woman, and gave her a genuine smile. "Rin... thank you. From the bottom of my heart."

Rin stopped for a moment, flustered. "Well... you're welcome... though I have to admit a lot of it was luck. Plus, like I told you long ago, you're pretty much the only family I have."

Kushina simply shrugged. "Even so, thank you. Especially for dealing with my whiny self all these years."

Rin blushed, but didn't say anything else, so Kushina took the opportunity to ask another question.

"Where is Jiraiya-sama?"

Rin jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "He's still in the kitchen. Said he'd wait in there for a bit."

"Ero-sennin! Get in here!"

Rin rolled her eyes, but Kushina gave Naruto a gentle whack on the back of the head. "Baka... you're not supposed to talk to your godfather like that!" She tried to maintain an aura of seriousness, but the grin that was itching to turn into a full blown smile ruined it for her. Naruto could see it easily. He rubbed the back of his head and laughed at his mother.

"Hey, you know it fits!"

Kushina just snorted, but then laughed lightly, a sound which Naruto found he really liked. "Okay, true. It's a shame I didn't think of it."

Jiraiya made his entrance into the room coming from the kitchen, with a scowl on his face. "Thanks a lot gaki, now I'm going to have your mother calling me that too."

Naruto heard a gasp come from his mother, and watched as she pointed a finger at him. "Jiraiya! How dare you call my son a gaki! It's Naruto, or Naruto-kun, or even Naruto-sama! But not gaki! He's your godson, for Kami's sake!"

Kushina huffed indignantly, adopting a pouty expression and crossing both arms under her chest. Naruto looked at his mother in total awe... she was defending him already, and not only that... but she acted just like he used to! His attention turned back to Jiraiya when the man let out a booming laugh.

This only served to further irritate Kushina, who started glaring at the man. Rin wisely remained silent, content to observe the interaction with a small smile on her face.

"Ah, that's my old Kushina-chan." The aging man let out a heavy sigh and moved over to Kushina, who eyed him with curiosity. "Let me just say, you've been greatly missed. All of your friends were crushed when you mysteriously disappeared." He leaned down and gave her a hug, which the startled woman took a moment to return.

As he pulled away, he turned and walked past Naruto, tousling the boy's hair. "Congratulations kiddo. To you and your mom. It's nice to have some good news for a change."

Naruto nodded and smiled at his godfather and sometime-sensei.

"So Kushina-chan, do you think you can remember what happened fifteen years ago, now that you know Naruto is alive?"

Kushina nodded right away. "I remember it. When I used to remember, it would cause me so much pain. But since Naruto is here, next to me, I don't have that problem anymore." She looked down at the floor and wrung her hands together. "Not that there is anything good about those memories, though."

Rin was looking curiously at Kushina, and was obviously thinking about what that could mean. Naruto noticed Jiraiya appeared not to care on the surface, but the man was a spymaster, and an excellent actor. Naruto knew better.

"Let's all go to the kitchen, I'll make some tea and tell you what happened."

Naruto hopped to his feet before anyone agreed or even moved, and was quick to offer his mother a hand to help her up.

She looked at him in surprise, then gave him a grin and laughed. She slapped his hand playfully, then grasped it and allowed Naruto to pull her to her feet. "I'm not that old, you know."

Naruto just shrugged and grinned back. "It's just the way I am, so you're going to have to live with it, I'm afraid."

Kushina smiled and walked up to him, wrapping her arms around his back and giving him another hug. "Things will probably be... awkward... between us for a little while, but I think I could get used to this."

Naruto chuckled and returned the hug. He randomly noticed that height-wise, his chin was at the same height as her forehead. Another inch or two and he could easily place his chin on top of her head.

She pulled away, but held onto his arm and pulled him into the kitchen, the others following. "Might as well get this story over with. Sorry in advance if I get emotional remembering some of these things. But it was the worst day of my life."

Kushina let go of Naruto's arm as everyone grabbed a seat at the table. Kushina moved over towards one of the cupboards to start making the tea as she began her rendition of what happened one October tenth, fifteen years ago.

* * *

"Damn, I'm sore."

"Oh! You're awake!"

Kushina rolled her head to the left to see Rin sitting in a chair next to her bed. She gave the sixteen year old a smile. "Have you been here the whole time?"

Rin shook her head negatively. "No... I've only been here for about ten or so minutes. The fighting just ended."

Kushina took a moment to give Rin a once-over. The girl's eyes looked dull and lifeless. Parts of her uniform were shredded, and her hair was matted down and dirty. There were random splotches of blood and soot all over her.

"You look like you've been through hell."

Rin looked at Kushina strangely for a second before she answered. "Considering the fight we just had, I'm not surprised."

A lightbulb went off in Kushina's head. "Kyuubi! What happened?! I just realized that I don't feel its chakra anymore... was Minato successful?"

Rin simply shrugged, but gave a dim smile this time. "I don't know what happened, all I can remember seeing was the boss toad being summoned, then a bright light, and the Kyuubi howling. After that it was completely silent. I just got finished escorting some of the wounded who were still able to move back here to the hospital."

Kushina sighed and rested back on the bed. "Minato did it..." She gave a sigh, then a moment later shot straight up in bed, startling Rin.

"I want to go see Minato. He still has Naruto, and he promised me that whatever happened wouldn't harm him. I want to make sure."

Rin jumped up. "No! Kushina, you only gave birth a few hours ago! Your body is still weak and needs more time to recover!"

Kushina snapped at Rin. "I know, I can easily feel how sore I am! But I'm also a kunoichi, not a civilian. I can't just sit around here while others are gravely injured, and the status of my son and partner are unknown!"

Rin's face remained impassive at Kushina's outburst, her gaze turning hard as steel. "What do you think Mikoto-san would do to me if I let you go?" The girl pointed to the sleeping woman on the bed across the room.

Kushina's face softened as she looked at Uchiha Mikoto, matriarch of the Uchiha clan and her best friend, lying on another bed across the room from her. When she had allowed Minato to take Naruto after he promised the boy would be fine, Mikoto had gone on a rampage. Her husband, Fugaku, had to knock her out before something bad might have happened. Kushina had passed out shortly after, the exertion from childbirth plus the killing intent of the Kyuubi pressing down on her was just too much to handle at the time. Minato's presence had shielded her from some of it, but as soon as he left, she couldn't take anymore and succumbed to the bliss of unconsciousness.

She shook her head and looked back to Rin. "Just tell her I knocked you out when you weren't looking and you had just woken back up." Kushina immediately proceeded to scramble out of the bed, grabbing the one-piece maternity robe she had been wearing earlier from a nearby shelf. She quickly stripped from the medical garment, tossing it to the floor, and pulled the robe on over her head.

She bolted for the door, quickly passing through before Rin could say anything else to stop her. Running down the hallway, she was glad to see that she had been placed on the first floor, so she wouldn't have to worry about any stairs.

As soon as she exited from the front of the hospital, she stopped and looked around. The smell of smoke was the very first thing she noticed, followed by random plumes of the stuff going up into the sky from all over the city. The sky was overcast now, but it may just have been smoke that was covering the view of the stars and the sky. There were scattered shouts that she picked up on as well once she jumped to a nearby rooftop.

Kushina vaguely recalled hearing them talk about Kyuubi as she was drifting in and out of consciousness immediately after childbirth. She recalled overhearing someone saying that it was coming from the northeast, so she immediately started heading off in that direction. As she traveled, Kushina knew she was going in the correct direction, if only because the destruction was getting worse.

Trees and rocks from the forest had been embedded in some of the buildings she passed. Most were still intact structurally, but nearly all would need some kind of repairs. There were still random fires that she could see, probably from jutsu that had missed or been deflected by the Kyuubi, or even caused by electricity. She recalled the Kyuubi's malicious chakra had been making a mess out of some of the hospital's more sensitive electrical equipment.

Kushina approached the wall to the northeast, and stopped at once. A portion of the wall had been smashed down, probably by one of the kitsune's tails. Portions of the wall that were still standing near where other parts of the wall had come down were charred black. She hopped up on a portion of the wall that still looked sturdy, and surveyed the nearby forest.

Needless to say, it was a mess. Entire acres were flattened, and there were giant scars embedded in the earth. In the distance, there was an eerie orange glow, so there was probably a good section of the forest that was likely on fire.

Honing her special senses, she tried to detect nearby chakra sources. There were pockets of weak chakra that she could sense behind her, and several more scattered throughout the forest in front of her. Immediately ignoring those, she began focusing on those which pulsed with power.

She gasped as she felt one. Then two, and a third. They were all clumped together, maybe two or three kilometers away. Without a second thought, she locked on and immediately performed a shunshin...

... only to go crashing through the forest, then landing hard on the forest floor. Kushina cried out in pain as her back and legs throbbed from the hard landing and failed attempt of quick movement. She cursed silently to herself as she wobbled back to her legs. She'd have to get there the slow way, her legs, no... most of her body, was too weak and sore to perform a shunshin. Kushina chided herself on her stupidity for even attempting it.

Jumping back up into the trees, and groaning as her legs protested each jump after, she tried her best to travel at a good clip to reach the chakra sources. Along the way she had to slow down to go around or over various bits of felled trees and rubble that had been strewn about all through the forest, getting her quite a few scrapes and cuts on her unprotected feet, ankles, arms, and hands.

Concentrating too much on the chakra sources she was getting close to, she wasn't prepared when the forest suddenly ended, and she went crashing to the ground again. This time she landed on her chest, knocking the wind out of her, and causing both front and back of her torso to start aching in pain. It now hurt just for her to breathe.

"Kushina! Kushina, are you alright?!"

She was sure she recognized the voice, but was too busy trying to dull the throbbing pain throughout her body as she slowly dragged herself back to her feet. Suddenly, a pair of strong hands placed themselves under her arms, helping her up to at least her knees.

"Kushina! Look at me! Focus!"

The glazed look in her eyes slowly disappeared and she finally registered the man who had moved around in front of her. She finally recognized him. Hyuuga Hiashi was dressed in his Hyuuga battle garb, which they rarely ever wore anymore. He had a few cuts and scrapes on his face, and his hair had various bits of debris mixed in it.

"Kushina!"

Finally coming back to her senses as well, she blinked rapidly. "H-Hiashi-sama! Where's Minato!? Where's my son?"

He looked confused first, then surprised, and finally angry. "Why are you not in the hospital, woman?! You just gave birth several hours ago, you cannot be fit for travel! We sent someone to-"

"Hiashi."

The Hyuuga immediately quieted as soon as a firm voice spoke his name. Kushina's eyes widened briefly as she looked in the direction the voice came from.

"Hello Kushina." The old retired Sandaime was looking at her with sad, tired eyes. After giving her a small smile, he looked back at the Hyuuga patriarch.

"Hiashi, she probably would have come as soon as she found out anyway. I'm sure she's been through enough, leave the poor woman alone for now."

Hiashi nodded, and murmured an apology to Kushina. But she wasn't listening.

She was staring at the body lying on the ground, where next to it was a man with long white hair on his knees...

"No..."

Ignoring anything and everything else, Kushina crawled as quickly as she could towards the body. The Sandaime stepped aside to let her pass uninhibited.

As she approached, she saw the features of the body and its clothing. The pants had a few rips, and the white coat it was wearing seemed to have either been ripped off near the bottom, or burned. It was only half the length she was used to seeing it at. His blond hair, however, was still as tousled as ever.

Her crawl stopped as she came up next to the body, and she leaned back on her knees, looking down at her partners face. He seemed at peace, his eyes were closed, and his lips actually set into a very faint smile.

"Kushina..."

She looked up at the man who was on the other side of the body. Jiraiya was looking back at her, tears running down his face.

"I'm... sorry... I'm so sorry. He wouldn't let me do it, the stubborn son of a bitch. Kept claiming responsibility... that it was part of his duty..."

Kushina nodded numbly, not really even listening, and stared at the body again. She slowly stretched out her arm, letting her hand gently brush away a few strands of hair that had gotten in his face. She suddenly had an idea.

"W-Wait... where's Tsunade? Where is she? She can just heal him up, right? He'll be good as new, right? Right?!"

"Tsunade already left to go look for other wounded, Kushina." The Sandaime's gentle voice reached her ears, and she felt him place a firm hand on her shoulder. She looked over at him, tears finally starting in her eyes as he crouched down next to her. The elderly man was looking at the dead body of the Yondaime, grief evident on his features.

"What do you mean? S-She's the best medic on the planet! She has to be able to do something... anything!"

She felt the Sandaime's hand squeeze her shoulder. "She tried, Kushina. Trust me. She was frantically trying everything she could think of. Even Shizune tried to help." Kushina watched as he shook his head. "Tsunade said he was the image of perfect health. There wasn't a wound on him. Internal or external. He was just... dying. The technique he had to use..."

Kushina brought her hands to her face, and started sobbing. The Sandaime's voice faded out as he started to explain something she didn't understand, but overall her mind was still at a loss. She couldn't believe he just... died. He left her, after he said he would be fine! What about Naruto... what about...

Kushina's head snapped back up. "My son! Where is he, where is Naruto!?"

The Sandaime and Jiraiya both looked confused for a moment. The Sandaime asked a question before Jiraiya could.

"What do you mean? You didn't see him?"

Kushina shook her head rapidly, flinging tears off her face. "No! Is he okay?!"

Now the old man gave a small smile. "He was fine after the sealing, Kushina. After the process was done, Fugaku volunteered to bring the child back to you in the hospital. I thought that you already-"

Kushina jumped to her feet and took off before the man finished speaking. She thought she heard him call her name, but she didn't pay any attention to it as she raced for the hospital as fast as her sore body could get her there.

* * *

Kushina came crashing through the front entrance of the hospital, startling the few nurses and orderlies who happened to be at the front desk. Bumping past a few people waiting in line that cried out in anger, she ignored them all and stumbled up to the desk. Bracing her arms on the counter, she gazed at the nurse nearest a filing cabinet.

"Please tell me what room I was in, I didn't pay attention when I left! Hurry!"

The nurse looked stricken for a second before she regained her wits. "U-um... whats your name?"

"Kushina. Kushina! Uzumaki Kushina!"

The nurse nodded and quickly turned to the cabinets, using a practiced hand to take seconds to grab what she needed. Pulling a file, she opened it up and looked inside. "You're in room one-sixteen. Is there anything-" the nurse looked up, "-else?" The kunoichi had already left.

Kushina was bolting down a familiar hallway, scanning the numbers on doors until she finally reached the one that was hers. She turned the knob quickly, slamming the door open as she stepped into the room. Quickly scanning it, she noticed first that Rin was no longer here, nor was Mikoto. She didn't dwell on that for too long, however, as she remembered her son upon seeing Fugaku.

The Uchiha patriarch was currently leaning heavily on the bed with one hand, as the other one covered his eyes. Ignoring him for the moment, Kushina ran over to the bed upon seeing a naked child with small tufts of blond hair lying there.

She screamed.

Her son had a seal unlike any other she had seen before literally burned into his stomach. Three dull red lines were on each of his cheeks, and almost looked like they were glowing. There was a little bit of blood leaking out of his open mouth, which looked like hit had been open in a scream. His eyes were completely black, unlike the crystal blue they were only hours ago. But what scared her the most was that there was a small trail of smoke coming from his open mouth, and that he was completely still. His chest wasn't moving at all.

Without thinking things through completely, she turned to the Uchiha and was overtaken by rage. She grabbed the surprised man by the front of his flak jacket, and swiftly slammed Fugaku up against the wall behind him.

Mad, bloodshot green eyes stared deep into a quickly spinning sharingan, unflinching.

"What the fuck did you do to my son, Uchiha!?"

Fugaku looked shocked, his eyes were wide, and he had his arms and hands back up against the wall in a sign of surrender. "I didn't do anything, I swear! I tried to figure out what was happening and stop it!"

Kushina glared at him and growled, slowly losing strength as she let the man fall back onto his feet. Turning away slowly, she gradually felt the rage slipping away, only to be replaced by despair as it fell on her sons... apparent corpse. She quickly moved over to the bed, and felt her child's neck, hoping for a pulse. Nothing. She moved her hand to his small chest, knowing that she'd at least feel a heartbeat if she did that...

Still nothing. His heart wasn't beating.

"I came here to tell you that Minato-sama had succeeded but was dying. Naruto was fine up until about five minutes ago. Then he suddenly started crying out, and I had no idea why."

Kushina looked at him briefly, he was walking back over to the bed while constantly rubbing his left eye for some reason. He looked ragged, and was speaking in a subdued tone.

"I tried using the sharingan to see if I could find out what was happening. Examining the seal, I saw some kind of large gate, with the word 'seal' on it. However the gate was glowing a bright red and there was steam coming off of it. Not only that, but I distinctly heard the Kyuubi's howl from behind the bars. After that, I got kicked out, and the feedback gave me a nasty headache. You arrived maybe a minute after it all ended."

The red haired woman he was talking to was only listening halfway. She heard it all, but didn't really care to understand what it meant. She was staring at her son.

Her dead son. She had done medical checks and confirmed it.

Tears were streaming down her face, but she felt too numb to sob, too shocked to scream. As much as she hated admitting it even to her self, thoughts of suicide were suddenly becoming louder and louder, demanding attention.

"It looks like Naruto was killed from the inside-out. The seal wasn't quite strong enough, but it looks like it did manage to at least take the Kyuubi with it, and for that your son is a hero. For what it's worth Kushina, I'm sorry this is how it had to end."

If Kushina heard, she didn't acknowledge. She was completely numb, in and out. Almost as if in a stupor, she started stumbling towards the door to the room, bumping into various objects along the way, trying to walk through them instead of around them.

She spent the next hour aimlessly wandering the hallways of the hospital.

Had she been of sound mind she would have noticed that five minutes later, Uchiha Fugaku was gone.

So was her son.

* * *

Rin was both angry and worried.

Angry, because Kushina left her with a nearly rabid Uchiha Mikoto. The woman had woken up shortly after Kushina bolted from the room, and had been far from happy. Rin had managed to dodge her wrath, which seemed to be mostly centered around Fugaku and Minato. The matriarch then promptly excused herself to check on her infant, whom she had left with relatives.

Worried, because it had been over three hours and she still couldn't find any sign of Kushina anywhere. She had been to her sensei's house twice, Kushina's apartment twice, the hospital room three times, and carefully examined her surroundings while travelling between all three places. She was currently en-route to Kushina's apartment for the third time.

She sighed as she unlocked the front door and entered, there were still no lights on. Grumbling to herself, she figured she would at least get something to drink before heading out once again to check her sensei's place for the third time. Rin flicked the light on and turned to head towards the kitchen...

... and saw Kushina standing there, facing a wall.

"K-Kushina! You're okay! Where have you been?"

She didn't get a response, and dread started to outpace worry. "Kushina?"

There was still no response, so the teenage girl quickly moved over to where the redhead was standing. Rin grabbed her wrist... it was ice cold.

"Kushina, what's wrong? What's going on? Why are you so cold?"

There was still no response, so Rin prepared some of her chakra and injected it forcefully into Kushina's body. This served two purposes. If Kushina was in some kind of genjutsu, it would push her out of it. If she wasn't, it would be just like an electric shock, and wake the woman up.

It worked, because Kushina blinked a few times and looked around. When she looked at Rin, it was a bit unnerving to the girl because Kushina's eyes weren't focusing at all.

"Oh... hi Rin..."

Rin waited a second to see if Kushina would say any more, but she didn't. However, instead of going back to stare at the wall, the woman started wandering around aimlessly, touching random objects in the apartment.

"Kushina, what's wrong? Where is sensei? Where is Naruto?"

Kushina stopped, and went rigid. She turned and looked at Rin slowly, and the girl saw that she had tears in her eyes. The woman's voice barely came out a whisper.

"Dead."

Rin was stunned speechless. Dead? "B-but... both of them?!"

Kushina simply nodded, and collapsed onto the couch, and began sobbing freely.

Rin was too stunned to move or even cry. Sensei couldn't be dead, could he? He was the Yondaime Hokage, leader of the old Team Namikaze... the Yellow Flash! He killed enemy shinobi by the thousands in a matter of seconds! He couldn't be... couldn't be... and then Naruto!? He had only been born earlier that afternoon, it hadn't even been a day yet! She was going to be his aunt! He may not have been related by blood, but her sensei and Kushina were closer to her than any member of her old clan ever was. They said she could be! She wanted to be!

Rin collapsed to her knees, mind blank. She watched as Kushina totally lost it on the couch, screaming and sobbing both Minato's and Naruto's names. A part of the teenager wanted to get up and go comfort the woman, but she quickly found she had no words of comfort to offer. While the death of her sensei and her... nephew may not have as large as an impact on her as it was on Kushina, it still hurt. Badly. Rin felt tears slowly leaking from her eyes as well. It had been a long time since she let herself cry.

Suddenly, Kushina's sobbing stopped, and she jumped up off the couch, shocking Rin back into action.

"W-What... are you doing?"

Kushina didn't look at or even acknowledge her, but started grabbing random things within her field of vision as she sniffled.

"Kushina! Please don't ignore me... what's going on?"

Kushina stopped for barely a second and looked at Rin with a completely blank expression, but her eyes seemed to be focused now. She then turned back and grabbed a bunch of picture frames she had around, depositing them all on a nearby table.

"I can't stay here."

Rin jumped back to her feet.

"What?!"

"I can't stay here. I have to leave. It's going to be too hard. I can't take it."

"What do you mean? Just leave?! But your friends? Everyone else is going to..."

Kushina turned to Rin, the look on her face absolutely livid. "I... can't... stay! If I stay here I'm going to kill myself, I just know it. I've lost too much! Too much! Every time I see this place, I see Minato, I see my dead baby." She let out a chilling laugh. "Minato's face is up on the fucking mountain!"

Rin was absolutely stunned. Kushina wanted to... kill herself? The only way to stop it was to leave Konoha? But Konoha was everything she knew... although... everything she knew about Konoha was almost gone too. Her sensei was dead. Kakashi, one of her old teammates, had been gone for months on a long term A rank mission. Her other teammate, Obito, had been dead for almost three years. Her clan was dead now too...

"I'm going with you."

Kushina stopped once again, she was in the middle of packing things into scrolls. "Why?"

"Because there is nothing left for me here either. You're all I have left. If you go, I go."

Kushina looked like she wanted to argue for a moment, but then her head drooped. She sighed and wiped at her eyes again, then turned back to putting things into the packing scroll. "Thank you, Rin. If you're coming, you might want to go pack some things as well."

Rin nodded even though the woman wasn't looking at her, and turned for the door. She spoke over her shoulder as she walked away. "Kushina, I know of a way where we can leave and no one will come looking for us, at least for a while. Meet me at the main gate in thirty minutes?"

"See you there."

Rin said goodbye before she closed the door behind her. Standing there, she turned and looked over Konohagakure no Sato one last time. This was the longest night of her life. The worst, too.

* * *

Rin took a deep breath as she pushed against the door and entered Konoha's Military Police headquarters. She had a funny feeling the place would be a madhouse... and she was exactly right. There were people, both shinobi and civilian, running about all over the place. Looking around, she noticed a big sign that they had hung from the ceiling, pointing new arrivals to where they needed to go to deposit forms.

Moving over to the wall where the forms were kept, she grabbed for the light blue 'Medical Leave and Evaluation Period' form. Rin bit her lower lip as she started filling out the piece of paper. Not everything she was putting on here would be entirely accurate, and some would be outright lies, but she had no choice. Kushina seemed serious enough when she said it was a matter of life and death, and Rin was a medic whose calling was to save lives.

She filled out her name and registration number, followed by Kushina's in the patient field. She sighed upon reaching the diagnosis entry space, deciding to fill it with as much useless technical jargon as she could so anyone glancing at it would really have to want to examine it to determine that it wasn't entirely truthful.

She did the same for the area reserved for describing the reason for leave and potential treatment possibilities. Just entering 'Pospartum Depression', 'Family Loss', and 'Emotional Trauma' didn't fill nearly enough space on the form, so she decided to embellish a bit.

For estimated time of return, she just inked in five months. That would give them enough time, and if all went well in that period, she might be able to convince Kushina to come home. If not, she knew the location of one of her clans old safehouses which should suffice for the duration. They'd have at least eight months, perhaps a year depending on how much paperwork Konoha had to go through, before someone would come looking for them.

Signing off on the form, she crossed out the place where the patient was supposed to sign, and wrote instead that the patient was mentally unstable and unable to sign. Nodding to herself, she looked around the room again, spotting the desk where she was supposed to hand off the form. There were two young boys working at the desk, and upon closer inspection she instantly recognized one of them.

Uchiha Itachi was only around six, maybe seven years old. Rin wasn't sure exactly. But he had already been pegged as a prodigy by many, and was being hailed as another Hatake Kakashi. It didn't really matter to Rin, considering her old teammate was Kakashi. However, from what she had seen Itachi didn't seem to favor being the recipient of a lot of attention. Being the son of the Uchiha patriarch, Fugaku, probably didn't help either. Rin couldn't say that she knew Itachi very well, but she had seen him on more than one occasion and even chatted with him once when he came over to Kushina's apartment with his mother, Mikoto. She hadn't really paid attention, mostly because she didn't care, but supposedly the boy was stated to finish the Academy this year, five years ahead of most students. To date, only Kakashi had done better, when he graduated at only five years old.

Though honestly, they were more desperate for good ninja when Kakashi was in school.

She walked up to the desk and gave both boys a brief smile and a nod. "I've filled out this medical leave form for a patient... do I need anything else?"

Both boys looked at each other, and the taller of the two shook his head. "I don't think so. But we don't really know for sure, Uchiha-sama just put us here because they need the help. There aren't enough adults to cover the stations right now."

Rin nodded again, this time in understanding. She handed the form over to the boy who's name she didn't know, who accepted it, looked at it briefly, then looked around the desk in front of him. Itachi was looking at the form from over the taller boy's shoulder, he was just tall enough to see over them.

The taller of the two started looking uncomfortable as the seconds passed, though Rin wasn't sure why.

"The pile on the left, Shisui."

The tall boy, Shisui apparently, looked quickly over his shoulder at Itachi, then placed the form in one of the smaller piles on the left.

"I knew that, Itachi."

If Itachi disagreed at all, he didn't voice his opinion. Instead he was staring rather impassively at Rin. It made her feel awkward. Shisui meanwhile was writing something on a thick piece of paper. He handed it to Rin.

"That's your gate pass. Doubt it really matters, I don't think they'll even have anyone at the gate right now. Uchiha-sama said I had to give one out anyway though. Said it had something to do with 'protocol', whatever that means."

"It means following the rules." Itachi spoke in a very plain voice, there was nothing mocking or chiding about it in any way. Rin found it to be rather... unnerving... that one so young could speak in such a manner. Shisui looked like he was getting ready to talk back until a new voice stopped him short.

"How are things going, boys? You're not giving Rin-san a hard time, I hope."

A three heads turned to see Uchiha Fugaku walking over to them, hands in his pockets, and a completely neutral expression on his face. Rin thought his passive expression always made him like like he had something sour in his mouth.

"N-No, Uchiha-sama! Everything is fine!" Shisui seemed suddenly nervous, and kept glancing at Itachi as if worried the other boy would claim he was slow in handling Rin's paperwork.

Fugaku merely raised an eyebrow. "I see." He turned his attention to Rin. "So what brings you here, Rin-san? Everything okay? I saw you enter and thought I'd come over and ask. My condolences about your sensei. His loss will be felt for a long time by the entire Fire Country."

Rin clenched her jaw and nodded stiffly. "I thank you. Though I'm trying not to think about it and take care of my patient right now, there will be time for grieving when I am alone."

Fugaku nodded. "How is Kushina?"

Rin sighed. "Mentally unstable at best, suicidal at worst. I need to get her out of Konoha to help her cope, the less distractions she has the faster I should be able to heal her mind."

"I see. You turned in a leave form already?" Upon receiving Rin's confirming nod, the patriarch looked at Shisui. "Give it to me."

Shisui jumped up and quickly snatched the form from the top of the pile, and snapped his arm out towards Fugaku. The man gently pulled the form from Shisui's grasp, and gave it a brief glance.

"I just got back from an emergency council meeting a few minutes ago. The Sandaime has agreed to step up and become Hokage once again to fill the power gap until a new Hokage can be found and trained for the position. I'm sure he would like to be made aware of Kushina's situation, so I will take this to him right away as soon as I grab a few more documents from my office."

He gave Rin a tight smile. "I wish you luck in returning a healthy Kushina to us."

Rin simply nodded, silently fuming in her mind. Why did he have to interfere!? Her form could have been buried in mountains of paperwork for months, giving plenty of extra time to heal Kushina. But no, he had to have just been there to see her, and to take the form to the Sandaime of all people! He'd see through some of the jibberish she wrote down in an instant. Not only that, but now she'd have to stick to the five month plan. This night just kept going from bad to worse.

Excusing herself, claiming she had to go pack, Rin swiftly turned and jogged from the building.

* * *

Fugaku watched Rin's back as she left, then turned to the two boys at the desk. "Keep up the good work boys. Itachi, meet me tomorrow evening at the dojo, we should continue your lessons as planned." That said, the man swiftly turned on his heel and headed towards his nearby office.

The boys just watched the man's back as he walked off. Shisui turned back to the desk after a few seconds, but Itachi kept watching his fathers back as the man walked through the doorway to his office, and closed the door behind him. He was wondering why his father bothered grabbing the form they got from Rin. He knew that his father hated dealing with paperwork, yet he volunteered to take this one straight through to the recently reinstated Sandaime. Something was going on, that was obvious. It wasn't quite clear if-

"Itachi!"

Breaking his train of thought, Itachi turned his head to his friend.

"It's about time. I've been calling you for the past minute! These go in your stacks, you were too busy daydreaming to take them."

Itachi just stared at Shisui. "Sorry, I was thinking." He grabbed the forms and turned to his stacks as Shisui groaned and slapped his forehead, causing a few people in the quickly forming line to chuckle.

If Itachi had watched the door for a few more seconds, he would have seen a quick flash of orange light come out from underneath it.

* * *

Kushina was sitting down, holding onto Naruto's arm with one hand as her head rested on her other arm, which was on the table. During the entire rendition of the story, she hadn't let go of Naruto for a moment, not even when she had broken down into tears at certain parts in the story. On more than one occasion Rin said it would be fine to take a break and start up again later, but Kushina stubbornly demanded that she see the story through to its end.

There were several points where Kushina had to stop for a few moments before she could continue. When she first recalled seeing Minato, lying there on the ground, dead... she had to stop. Jiraiya and Rin weren't faring much better, the old pervert had turned his body to the side, away from everyone at the table. Rin was tearing up and sniffling, but didn't cry. Naruto, on the other hand, never knew the man. He didn't show anything other than support for his mother and was slowly rubbing her back. She was slouched over with her arms resting on the table, her face nestled into the middle of them, hiding it from view. But Naruto both heard and felt the sobs that were wracking her body. He made a mental note to give her some time before he started asking questions about his father.

The next break arrived shortly after that, when Kushina tried to explain what she saw when she encountered Naruto in the hospital. Rin covered her face with her hands and kept shaking her head back and forth, while Jiraiya just looked absolutely horrified. Kushina tried to go over to Naruto, but simply fell out of her chair next to him. He joined her on the floor and gave her a hug. She hugged him back desperately as he was busy trying to hold back the sick feeling in his stomach as he repeated the description of what she saw over and over in his mind. No wonder his mother had been mentally unstable for so long... to see any infant in that condition, or to even think of putting one in that condition made Naruto sick, but then to think it was your own child that looked like she thought he did? He couldn't even begin to fathom it.

Once she had calmed down and managed to continue her story, gaps started forming that Rin had to fill in, because Kushina simply couldn't remember. Rin then continued the story up until the point they passed through the gate. They decided to end it there for now, because several hours had passed since and both Naruto's and Kushina's stomachs had started growling towards the end.

Kushina smacked her hand down on the table loud enough to get the others attention.

"Let me make this clear now. When I do end up going back to Konoha, I'm killing Fugaku-teme, and no one is going to stop me."

Several seconds of silence followed the declaration, Naruto was staring at his mother somewhat incredulously.

"Kushina-chan, I'm afraid you're about seven years too late for that."

Kushina and Rin both looked at Jiraiya with wide eyes, until Kushina turned away.

"Well... fuck."

She sighed and closed her eyes, placing a hand on her forehead. "How did Mikoto take the news, was she okay?"

Jiraiya was starting to look uncomfortable, while Rin was merely looking concerned. "No one knows... they died at the same time."

Kushina's shoulders slouched a bit. "I see. I don't know-"

Jiraiya cut her off, probably figuring it best to let her know every detail about it know. "Actually, the entire Uchiha clan is dead, except for two."

"What?!"

"How?!"

Both Kushina and Rin shouted questions at the same time, looked at each other, then both turned to Jiraiya for an answer.

It was Jiraiya's turn to sigh. "I'm surprised you didn't hear, Rin. I thought it was rather big news. Itachi killed the entire clan, except for his little brother, Sasuke."

Naruto's fist clenched under the table upon hearing both Itachi's and Sasuke's names. Kushina and Rin were both silent, mulling over Jiraiya's words. Rin spoke first, answering Jiraiya's earlier question. "I did hear about the so called 'Uchiha Massacre', but it was just a rumor I picked up on, and out of respect of a promise I made, I did not mention or investigate it."

The word 'promise' caught Naruto's attention. "Promise?"

Kushina squeezed Naruto's arm. He totally forgot she had been holding onto it nearly the entire time. "You probably remember me rambling on about a promise when I first saw you and... Ero-sennin."

Both Naruto and Rin nodded and laughed, while the Toad Sennin crossed his arms and pouted, glaring at Kushina. She laughed lightly before continuing. "Anyway, for the first few months out here, I was a total vegetable. I couldn't do anything, because as soon as I saw or heard something that reminded me of Konoha, I instantly thought of you," she pointed at Naruto with her free hand, "and Minato. As soon as I did that, I might as well have been in a coma every time until Rin came back around to wake me up."

"Rin tried everything she could to try and figure out what was wrong, but nothing was working. Eventually she tried something else, and sealed away all the pictures and mementos I had brought with me. It seemed to work, because with less reminders about Konoha, the less I thought about... well, you know. I both did and didn't want to remember you and your father. If I did, I would be honoring your memory. If I didn't, I could actually continue living my life and not break down completely."

"Finally, I had her make me a promise that she would not say anything, do anything, or bring me anything that could remind me of Konoha. She accepted on the grounds that it's what was best for the health of her patient, but let me know at the same time that Rin, Chuunin of Konohagakure no Sato, did not agree to the promise. But I took what I could get. I was determined to live, even if it was a relatively sad existence, and almost one third of my entire life was inaccessible."

Kushina sighed. "So I've been living Konoha-free for just about nine years now. Maybe ten. I don't think there was an official date we started with the promise. It just gradually fell into place."

Jiraiya looked at Rin. "You never heard about Naruto in any of those rumors?"

Rin shook her head. "Trust me, there were some rumors I really wanted to investigate, but didn't. Especially that one about the blond haired kid and Shukaku."

Kushina's mouth dropped open. "What?!"

Naruto was nervously scratching the back of his head and chuckled as Rin nodded to Kushina. "I picked up on a rumor that there was a blond haired kid who had pretty much single-handedly defeated the Ichibi. But I remembered that the Yamanaka's had blond hair, and they had a baby girl a few months before you had Naruto, so I didn't think too much more into it after that. But I have to admit, part of me really wanted to anyway."

Jiraiya nodded at Rin's explanation. "Well, it was the gak...errr," Jiraiya glanced nervously at Kushina, who suddenly became very interested in the next words out of his mouth, "Naruto here who defeated the Ichibi. All alone, too."

Kushina turned to stare at her son, a big smile on her face. Naruto was blushing, and he swore he saw something in his mothers eyes that he always dreamed about.

Pride. His mother was proud of him.

However, he wanted to be completely honest and open about the battle. "Well, I did have to summon Gamabunta to help me. So I didn't do it completely alone."

He was expecting his mother to brush off the comment, but wasn't expecting her to become even more excited. "Wow! You can summon the toads already too! Even the boss!? That's incredible, Naruto!"

Naruto was blushing an even deeper crimson now. Jiraiya was scratching his chin, chuckling. "Oh right. I forgot about that."

Kushina stood up, still beaming. The other three turned to look at her. "Well, in light of this news, not to mention I'm starving, I feel like this deserves a celebratory meal. So... who's up for some delicious shrimp ramen?!"

After the resulting ringing in their ears from Naruto giving an affirmative, Jiraiya just placed his elbow on the table and leaned his head against his hand, smirking. Rin was looking on with what could best be described as being relieved and content. Kushina grabbed Naruto's upper arm and started dragging him off to the kitchen, both of them chanting 'ramen' over and over.

Jiraiya snorted, chuckling to himself. Rin turned in his direction, tossing him an inquisitive look. He was still looking at Kushina and Naruto, but saw Rin from the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but smirk even more. "I just thought, this whole situation would make a really good book."

Rin couldn't help but agree.

* * *

**Edited:** February 10th, 2010

Up next: Introductions


	14. Introductions

Chapter 14

"So, are we there yet?"

Naruto blinked, suddenly feeling like he was in some kind of twilight zone. He could have sworn he heard that exact same question repeatedly not too long ago. However, with all the new information that had just been flash-fried into his brain since last evening, he was having trouble remembering anything that was over a day or two old.

Turning his face slightly to look at his mother, he noticed that she was giving him a rather cheeky smile. He just chuckled softly and shook his head before giving her a reply. "It took us about two hours to get to your old safe house from the outpost, and it's almost been two hours since we headed out this morning. I'm guessing we should be there relatively soon. I've noticed that the trees are starting to thin out... which definitely means we're getting closer."

"Thank youuu, Naruto-kuuun."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle a little bit yet again, his mother hadn't really been talking all morning. It was more like... some kind of singing. She was stringing words together in some type of sing-song voice. Not that he could blame her, when she got him up this morning, his mother claimed that she was the happiest she'd been ever since she could remember. To be completely honest, he felt the same way. Thinking about it a little more, Naruto realized it wasn't just last evening that made him happy - in the last two weeks or so, things had been especially looking up. Now if only the happiness trend would continue...

Turning his head slightly, the blond looked at his mother once again out from the corner of his eye. Her hair was billowing out with it's long deep red strands behind her as they traveled quickly through the trees. When she woke him up this morning, she had claimed she was too energized to sleep properly that night, and had already packed everything up. She had also put on her old kunoichi scouting outfit, or at least that was what she told him it was, and then proceeded to pose and ask him what he thought of the outfit since she hadn't worn it in forever.

It was a one piece dark green jumpsuit that fit her rather snugly - a fact to which she was obviously very proud of - and had a dark blue, almost black vest that covered her chest but left her arms bare, much like his own. There was a skirt that was the same color which looked just like the one Sakura currently wore as her battle attire, only about a foot longer. The jumpsuit covered her arms up to her wrist and down to her ankles, where she was wearing fingerless black gloves for her hands and open-toe sandals with straps that wrapped around her shin halfway to her knee.

Naruto just stared and blinked at her for a few moments, turning away quickly with a blush adorning his face. She definitely looked good, it was only after slapping himself around mentally and constantly reminding himself that it was his mother of all people, that he managed to settle down and tell her it looked good. She must have known what he was thinking, because she laughed and admitted to trying to get a rise out of him, because she wanted to make sure that 'ero-sennin' hadn't corrupted him too badly. She knew it would be hard for him to view her as a mother and not just simply a woman first after only a few hours, but he passed her little test with flying colors.

He was rewarded about an hour later by getting to watch her beat the crap out of Jiraiya for making the mistake that he had narrowly avoided. The trickle of blood from Jiraiya wasn't as big as it typically was when Naruto performed his Oiroke technique, but it was still clearly visible. This was also the first time he'd ever seen Rin laugh openly since they met.

It didn't take much longer for the availability of branches to decline sharply, and Naruto had to drop down to the ground. Kushina followed beside him, and Jiraiya and Rin brought up the rear a moment later. Naruto looked off into the distance, immediately spotting their outpost, and the ruins not far beyond that.

He pointed them out. "Looks like we're maybe fifteen minutes away if we run."

Kushina shook her head. "I've been trying to keep in shape, and I think I've done good so far. But I would rather walk the rest of the way. I'm not in the same condition I used to be."

Naruto nodded, then looked back over his shoulder at Rin and Jiraiya. Neither of them were paying attention... Jiraiya was busy scribbling in his book as Rin glared at him, her expression that of absolute loathing.

He felt a hand grab his arm, and looked at it quickly, only to find that it belonged to his mother. Looking at her face, he could see it was scrunched up in concentration.

"We have company. I detect one, moving in fast. They're traveling an indirect route, so probably following a patrol. But we'll most likely be spotted at the rate we're going to be traveling."

Naruto tried expanding his senses, but couldn't find anything. He looked at his mother with a questioning gaze. "I didn't sense anything, how can you..."

Kushina clamped a hand over Naruto's mouth and gestured with her free hand for him to be silent. He nodded his assent and she stopped covering it.

His mother spoke in hushed tones. "It's an Uzumaki blood trait that needs a special process to be activated. I'll explain more later. Now isn't the time, we have to determine if the incoming is a friendly."

His eyes widened, and he whispered back. "Kekkei Genkai?"

Kushina shook her head, and mouthed the word 'later' to him.

Naruto nodded, and looked over his shoulder at Rin and Jiraiya, then back to his mother again. Face set in determination, he made a hand seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Two clones popped into existence on either side of Naruto. He saw Jiraiya nod, as if automatically understanding his plan. Rin and Kushina on the other hand, were wide-eyed, Rin was even gaping slightly.

"What direction is the target coming from?"

Naruto waited a few seconds, but didn't get a reply from his mother. She wasn't completely wide-eyed anymore, but still looking either shocked or surprised and looking between Naruto and his clones.

"Mom!"

Kushina immediately blinked and shook her head. "Oh, yes! I'm sorry! I wasn't expecting..." She trailed off as she closed her eyes in concentration. Lifting her arm, she pointed in a southerly direction.

"There. About three, maybe four kilometers. The target has slowed down, and probably just sensed us. At that distance, it puts them at jounin level."

Naruto nodded and turned his head slightly to the side. "You heard the lady. Go."

Both clones nodded and took off faster than either Rin or Kushina could see, not that either one of would be likely to admit it. Naruto addressed the group as soon as the clones left.

"Let's keep moving. I have a funny feeling I know who it is, and they will catch up."

His mother gave him a puzzled look for a second while the other two simply nodded. Deciding not to argue the point, Kushina fell into step next to her son. Naruto noticed how close she was to him, much like she had been for the entire trip. Not to mention she was hanging all over him the remainder of last night and this morning, pampering him to death.

He didn't have the heart to tell her that he didn't need her to treat him like the way she was; he had been living on his own since as early as he could remember. The main thing that stopped him from saying such was that she had been through the exact opposite. He was supposed to have been the son she was able to pamper up until now. What if she had been around, would he have been spoiled as the son of a Hokage?

Following a trail of 'what if' questions, he was awed by how much his life might have been different had the Kyuubi never attacked Konoha. Would he have have made the same friends? Would he still be in love with Sakura? Would he have a brother or sister in blood, not just in name? Abruptly halting his previous line of thought, foreign memories assaulted his mind. Immediately after he started sifting through them, a very familiar voice started speaking.

"Ah, there you are. I was wondering when-"

The voice suddenly stopped as everyone turned around to see who it was.

Kakashi was standing there, halted mid-stride a few feet away from the group. His visible eye was wide open.

"N-No... it can't be..."

Jiraiya gave the silver haired jounin a grin. "I'm sure you remember these two very well, Kakashi."

Kakashi slowly started to nod his head, but then immediately started to shake it negatively. "This can't be! Are you... are you all really..." He reached up to his forehead protector, ready to reveal the sharingan - most likely to check for genjutsu of some sort. Naruto panicked, immediately fretting over what might happen if his mother saw a sharingan eye. Would the sight of it cause her to relapse, considering the four of them believed it highly likely that the sharingan was the cause of her past problem? Not giving it another moments thought he immediately moved over in front of her, while turning his back to Kakashi.

He grabbed his mother in a tight hug, wrapping his arms around her back as the side of her face pressed against his chest. He heard her let out a small squeak of surprise as he looked over his shoulder at his old silver-haired sensei.

Apparently he needn't have worried. Jiraiya had his hand on top of Kakashi's, preventing the man from lifting his custom forehead protector and exposing his implanted eye. They were talking in hushed tones, so Naruto assumed that Jiraiya was trying to quickly explain the situation to some degree.

"Naruto-kun, if you wanted a hug that badly, all you had to do was ask."

Hearing his mother speak and then giggle brought his attention back to her. While he was watching both of his old teachers, she had since snaked her arms around his back and was hugging him in return. Kushina's eyes were looking up at him, filled with obvious mirth.

He couldn't help but blush a little. The huge grin on her face wasn't helping either.

"Yeah, uhm... sorry. I didn't know if Kakashi-sensei's sharingan would make you go crazy or something, so I just did the first thing that came to mind."

"I understand. I don't know if it would do anything either. I'm happy you thought of me first, though."

Kushina gently grabbed the back of his head and pulled it down, then got on her tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Upon seeing him blush a deeper shade of crimson, she grinned and chuckled, gave him one more quick squeeze, then pulled back from the hug and moved around him to approach Kakashi. Naruto turned slowly to watch the encounter, but otherwise didn't move. This was something they had to solve amongst themselves.

Jiraiya and Kakashi had since finished talking. The Toad Sennin had taken a step back, arms crossed, watching the proceedings while the jounin was standing there stiffly, obviously uncomfortable for some reason. His visible eye was bouncing back and forth between Rin and Kushina.

Kushina seemed to be delighted to see Kakashi again, her body nearly bouncing with each step. She approached Kakashi and stood a few feet in front of him, looking him over. Rin, on the other hand, hadn't moved an inch since Kakashi arrived. She was still staring at him, but for some reason, didn't look too happy.

"Kakashi-kun, it's good to see you again after all these years."

Everyone watched as Kushina bowed slightly in front of Kakashi, and gave him a small smile. Kakashi just stared back, incredulously. Slowly, he lifted a hand and pointed his finger at her.

"K-Kushina-san... where... what happened?" He looked quickly at Rin, then back at Kushina again. "Where have you and Rin been all these years?! I thought... we all thought..."

Kushina started nodding before Kakashi finished, then cut him off. "That we were dead? Yes. I've heard. I'll explain the whole story when we have more people gathered, but for know, just know that I thought the two people who meant more than the world to me were dead. I went insane. Rin took it upon herself to care for me all these years, until Naruto found me and finally healed my mind."

Kakashi just kept staring at her... trying, and wanting to believe what she was saying. He looked at Jiraiya, who simply nodded at him, urging him to accept it for now. Kakashi then turned and looked at Naruto, who did the same.

Sighing and letting his shoulders slump a little, he apparently decided to accept that answer for now. "I... see. I'm interested to hear this story, but regardless of that, it is good to see you again, Kushina-san. You have been missed."

Surprising everyone present, Kushina ran up and gave the man a quick hug, which he seemed too surprised to return. After letting him go, she took a step back and looked up at him.

"Whooooaaa... Kakashi-kun, you've gotten so tall! I remember when you were barely this high!" Kushina held up her hand which only came up to just above her stomach.

Kakashi scratched the top of his head and let out his trademark mild chuckle. "Ah... what can I say? I grew up."

Kushina merely nodded quickly a few times, hands now on her hips. "Well, let's chat more later. You need to say hi to someone else so we can get going." She then turned and walked back towards Naruto, and upon reaching where he was standing, turned back around and looked at Rin.

The younger woman was still looking at Kakashi, apparently waiting for him to say something. Another moment of silence and Kakashi placed his hands on his hips, leaning forward slightly to look at an imaginary spot on the ground, and he let out a small sigh.

"Hello... Rin."

"Greetings, Hatake."

Everyone winced at the ice cold tone in Rin's voice... Naruto had not yet heard her talk like that around him since he met her yesterday. It was enough to make Kakashi physically flinch slightly, and he slowly raised his head to look at her once more.

"It's been a while."

Rin nodded, but anyone could see the frown on her face. She walked up to him slowly, and stood in front of him for several seconds. Both of them simply stared at each other.

Naruto was surprised when Rin suddenly lashed out and smacked him across the face. The sound was muffled slightly due to the mask Kakashi always wore, but there was no doubt the man still felt the full impact. While his body did not move, his entire head turned to the side from the force of the impact. Rin started talking in hushed tones, but Naruto could tell it was rather heated. He wasn't sure if it would be polite to move in closer to listen, so instead he turned to his mother, who also seemed to be watching the proceedings with a sort of detached interest.

She must have noticed him looking at her, somehow, because she turned to Naruto and gave him a small smile. "What's up?"

Naruto inclined his head towards where Rin and Kakashi standing. It sounded like they were in a heated argument. "Any idea what that's about? Was it wrong of me to lead Kakashi-sensei here?"

Kushina gave a small shake of her head, then turned back to looking at the other two ninja before she answered. "Kakashi-kun was always sensitive because of his father's death. It scarred him in some ways, mentally; he used to always try to hide it. I'll need to observe him for a while longer before I can tell if he has changed. He used to purposefully avoid getting close to people because of what happened."

Naruto was frowning. "What did happen?"

Kushina looked at Naruto, surprise written on her face. "So he was your sensei but never told you?" Her surprise turned to chagrin. "I guess he hasn't changed then. Such a shame."

Naruto absentmindedly rubbed his cheek and shook his head. "Nope. He doesn't talk about his past at all. The only thing he's ever said about his past was that the Yondaime was his sensei. He only told us that to show us that we were being taught by a great man who had come from a line of great teachers. Or something like that."

Kushina giggled. "Yep, that's certainly Kakashi-kun. Though he did speak the truth about a line of great teachers. Did he at least explain that?"

"Not clearly. Though I'll admit I wasn't really interested at the time. Jiraiya-jiisan explained it to me later."

Kushina nodded this time, looking briefly at Jiraiya, then back to Naruto. "Anyway, I think the main thing behind Rin's agitation started on the second anniversary of the death of their teammate, Uchiha Obito. Kakashi asked your father for an intense A Rank mission so he wouldn't have to think about it. Minato didn't want to at first, but eventually agreed and let him have the mission. Kakashi left, and didn't tell Rin he was leaving."

Naruto winced. "Bad move."

Kushina just nodded, then sighed. "Rin was depressed and angry for weeks following the anniversary. She lost one of her teammates, and the other one abandoned her when she needed him most. When she was finally able to pull herself back together, she became totally absorbed in her work, completely devoting herself to the medic field and training for Tokubetsu Jounin status. She also had some sort of falling out with her clan, and pretty much moved in with me when she found out I was pregnant with you. We were already close friends previously, but that eventually changed to where I viewed her as a little sister in those months, and that has continued to this day."

Naruto looked at his mother again halfway through her speech. One comment she made grabbed his attention. "She has a clan? Which one?"

Kushina turned her attention to her son and shrugged. "She did, at least. I don't know what happened, and because of my status, I was never able to ask. She stopped using her surname a couple months before the attack. I figured she would talk about it if she felt like it. I may be outgoing, but I didn't want to pry because it had just happened back then, and later on I didn't care because I couldn't. Maybe she'll open up and explain to us later, when we get to this outpost of yours. She'll tell you if she feels like it, but it would probably be best to leave it alone unless she initiates the conversation."

Naruto was about to comment, but decided against it as he heard footsteps approach. Rin, followed at a small distance by Kakashi and Jiraiya, was walking up to them.

"Sorry about the delay. Some things needed to be said and I didn't want to do it later when there were more people able to listen in."

Kushina and Naruto both nodded. Naruto glanced at Jiraiya and Kakashi quickly before turning to leave. His godfather was looking at Kakashi with a frown on his face, while said jounin was looking rather dejected. His posture was slouched and his head was hung low, staring at the ground. Naruto made up his mind to try to find some way to talk to his old sensei later, perhaps find some way to cheer the man up.

Finally walking towards the outpost, Naruto's thoughts then turned towards his own team. He couldn't help but wonder what his mother would think and say about Sasuke, Sai... and most of all, Sakura.

* * *

Sakura sighed to herself as she put some more medical salves into one of the simple cabinets that Naruto had made for storage in the medical building. She had finally finished organizing all the supplies they had been given for their mission over the past few days, but knew that overall she was nowhere near done. While it worried her that she was currently the only registered medi-nin on their assigned mission team so far, the arrival of Rin had alleviated some of her concerns – assuming the woman would be willing to stay around for a little while. If Jiraiya and Naruto could convince her to help, even a little, it would take some of the burden off of her shoulders to make sure everyone present was in top shape.

Sure, Ino could have helped if Sakura was ever in a pinch and needed assistance, but Ino had only taken the basic classes, and never registered as a medi-nin. This was most likely because she had plans to work for the Interrogation Department eventually, which is one that her family has always excelled in. Thinking back to her own family, Sakura thought of her own parents. She was not the first generation ninja in her family by any means, but her family didn't belong to any clan. Her mother was a kunoichi for a few years and even made chuunin rank, but retired when she became pregnant. Her father was a general goods merchant in Konoha, but liked to travel a lot, so his store had a section where he sold various items from foreign lands. It was a very popular section, and as a result her father traveled a lot, so she only got to see him a few months out of the year. When Sakura became a kunoichi, the time she saw him dwindled further.

The thoughts of family eventually brought her around to Naruto. He was going to meet up with the one person in his life who he could claim to be related to by blood. Sakura could only hope that she was out of his life these past fifteen years for a legitimate reason, because otherwise Naruto was going to be heartbroken. She immediately understood what Tsunade said much earlier about being the one responsible for putting him back together... though this probably wasn't what her sensei had in mind when she said that. Which could only mean there was likely something else about this place that was going to be hard for him to handle. Sakura clenched her fist and resolved herself to helping her best friend in any way possible.

A light blush came to her face as she further examined her thoughts about the potential innuendo of helping him in 'any' way, but quickly shook her head to get rid of them. She wasn't like that!

Looking around the medical building, she confirmed to herself that there wasn't really anything further she could do, and decided to move over to the command building, as there were still a few things that needed to be set up over there. Walking to the door, she opened it and stepped through, only to wince as the late morning sun nearly blinded her. Closing the door behind her, Sakura held one hand up over her eyes to shield her from the brightness of the sun until her eyes could adjust.

As she started walking towards the command building, her thoughts drifted back to Naruto once more. Mostly due to worry, which was only increased last night when Ino and Yuugao cornered her to ask if she knew Naruto's whereabouts. She considered telling them about Naruto's mother for only a moment, before silently deciding that it would be best if Naruto explained where he went in case things didn't turn out well. She told them that he went to run an errand with Jiraiya, but that he didn't give her any further details.

Ino took what Sakura said at face value, but after she left, Yuugao decided to give her 'the look' and press for more. What was he wearing when he left? Was he properly equipped? Was the pervert dragging him or was Naruto going willingly? It took Sakura every ounce of resistance she could mount to convince Yuugao that Naruto would only be gone for a little while, that he was going willingly, and was well aware of his responsibility to the outpost when he left.

Yuugao finally decided to believe what Sakura was saying after a ten minute grilling session. By the heavens that woman could be scary when she wanted to be – and that was saying something considering she was an apprentice of the Godaime! Upon reaching the door of the command building, Sakura started going through all the female ANBU in her mind that she could remember, wondering if they were all like that.

As her hand landed on the doorknob, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Sakura-chan! Hey, we're back!"

She quickly spun around. "Naruto!? How did it-", she immediately noticed a red-haired woman that she had never seen before standing next to him, "-go?"

Naruto laughed and placed his hands behind his head, a pose she was both very accustomed to and familiar with. It meant things went well, and she smiled before he even responded.

"It went great, Sakura-chan! Was everything okay while I was gone?"

She nodded and continued smiling. "Everything was fine, Naruto. Nothing to report."

"Good, good!" Naruto just continued chuckling and smiling, apparently pleased. Sakura was trying to keep the smile on her face, but the curiosity regarding his mother was killing her. She didn't want to be rude...

Apparently his mother was thinking along the same lines, because the red-haired woman gently nudged Naruto in the abdomen.

He put his arms down and looked at her in confusion.

She looked at him expectantly for a moment, but when his expression didn't change, she sighed and rolled her eyes at him, then walked over to Sakura.

"Sorry, I thought he was going to introduce us. I'm his mother, Uzumaki Kushina." She held her hand out.

Sakura looked at the offered hand for a second, then grabbed it and gave the woman a smile, bowing forward slightly as well. "Haruno Sakura. I'm one of Naruto's old teammates. Believe me, I know he might not be the brightest crayon in the box sometimes, but if you need something done, he's the guy to go to."

Kushina laughed and gave Sakura a radiant smile. "That sounds almost just like how Minato used to describe me when I was much younger." Kushina looked away for a moment, as if remembering something, then looked at Sakura again. "But he had to be nicer about how he said it, otherwise my fists would be beating him into the ground."

Sakura grinned at Kushina, then looked over at Naruto, who was watching their interaction with interest. He was also looking slightly pale, and the grin on his face seemed almost... forced. Knowing him so well, Sakura picked up on it immediately. For some reason, she felt like teasing him a little in front of his mother.

"Well Naruto... it looks like you have two girls to deal with that have... how did you put it?" She paused for a moment, tapping her chin for effect. "Oh yes! Monstrous strength, was it?"

Naruto immediately gulped and went visibly pale. "But... but... Sakura-chan, I haven't said that in a while!"

She gave him an icy smile. "I know. But I haven't forgotten it."

As Naruto fidgeted, Kushina looked between the both of them. "So, you two are still good friends then? Even though you are no longer on the same team?"

While the question was directed at them in such a way so that either one of them could answer, Sakura decided she was better off answering. "Yes, we are. Though things usually end up in such a way where Naruto acts stupid or like a pervert, so I have to knock some sense back into him."

Kushina giggled, and looked between Naruto and Sakura one more time. Naruto was looking distinctly uncomfortable now. "From the way you talk to him, are you two just friends, or..."

Naruto's mother purposefully trailed off at the end, but Sakura instantly picked up on where she was aiming. As much as she tried to hide it, a blush slowly crept up her cheeks. "We... well... haven't really had a chance to talk about that."

Kushina merely raised an eyebrow, then looked over to Naruto. He seemed absolutely clueless as to what they were talking about. Kushina couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, maybe you should talk to him about it. Knock some sense into him while you're at it. Maybe... I don't know... tonight?"

The redhead had to suppress her laughter as she watched the younger girls face go completely crimson. Her eyes were wide, and she tried to stutter out an answer, but nothing coherent emerged. Looking over at her son, she noticed that Naruto was still unsure what was going on, but was obviously even more uncomfortable than before.

She turned and started walking off, giving them a small wave. "Well, you two talk for a bit. I want to go catch up with Kakashi-kun and Jiraiya-sama some. We'll talk more later."

Naruto stepped over to Sakura as his mother moved away from them, however Sakura took a step back from him. Naruto looked at her questioningly. "What's wrong, Sakura-chan? What did she say? I didn't get it."

While part of her couldn't believe how totally oblivious Naruto could be at times, the other part of her was thankful. It meant she didn't have to explain what his mother had not-so-gently implied. At least that meant she gave his mother a good impression... or so she hoped. After another few seconds, in which Naruto's confusion started changing to worry, she found her voice. "Naruto, she just said that we need to talk."

Naruto's expression didn't change. He was still confused and worried. "About?"

"Us."

His face finally showed recognition. It quickly went from shock, to one that seemed close to... resignation. "Oh."

Sakura became immediately concerned. "Why the long face so suddenly?"

He wouldn't meet her eyes. "Well... I'm a little confused about... us." He sighed and looked back towards where the others were standing, talking animatedly. "I was shocked when you gave me the kiss in the hospital, and you surprised me again when you kissed me yesterday." He was blushing at this point, but Sakura knew she was too.

"I was surprised at myself too, a little."

He finally looked at her, eyes wide. But then he looked even more upset.

"Is that a nice way of saying it was a mistake?"

"No!" She said it a little more loudly than intended, and quickly covered her mouth. She looked over to the others, afraid they might have heard her outburst, but to her relief they were still talking to each other while walking away. Sakura looked at Naruto again and dropped her hand, fingers gently tugging at the bottom of her shirt. She tried to give him a small smile, but didn't know if it looked like one.

"It wasn't a mistake, but I did surprise myself. I'm not usually... bold, at least the way I was with you. In the hospital, it was the surprise I had promised, so I was ready to give you that one. The look on your face made it worth it. However, in the command building yesterday, before you left... I don't know." She sighed, mentally telling herself not to ramble on, but to get to the point. "I think I just wanted you to have at least one recent happy memory in case the meeting with your mother went badly. I know that sounds horrible that I would even think something bad might happen, but I was scared and nervous for you."

She was waiting for any kind of backlash from him, but was pleasantly surprised when none came. At least not immediate. She started to get frustrated, thinking Naruto was going to let her stew over what she said for a while before he answered, but he surprised her yet again.

He hugged her. It started out gentle, but began to tighten rapidly. She had to move her arms so that they didn't get trapped between them, but she just let them rest at her sides, not sure if she wanted to hug him back just yet.

"Thank you again, Sakura-chan."

She thought she knew what he was thanking her for, but wanted to make sure. "For what?"

"Thinking about me."

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle a little as she decided he earned the return hug, so she slowly snaked her arms around his waist and settled the side of her head against his chest and shoulder, her forehead lightly touching his cheek. "Baka, I always think about you."

She didn't bother to move her head so she could see his face, but the surprise was evident in his voice. "Really?"

Another chuckle from her. "Yes. I had a hard time sleeping last night, I was so worried for you."

"Sakura, I don't want you to have problems like that because of me." He dropped the suffix once again, so she knew he was serious. But this was serious for her too.

"Are you saying that you don't worry about me, and it wouldn't keep you awake at night?"

Naruto didn't voice an answer, but his silence was confirmation enough. She knew he had cared, perhaps even loved, her as long as she could remember knowing him. Possibly even before that. She sighed to herself, but it was enough to make Naruto give her a squeeze.

"Sorry, did you want an answer? Worrying about you has kept me awake before."

She smiled, even though he couldn't see it. "I know."

The chuckle reverberated through his chest, she felt the vibration against the side of her head. "So why did you ask, then?"

"I still wanted to hear you say it. I like to know you care. It makes me feel... happy."

Naruto tensed in her hold for a brief second, enough to make her worry that she said something she shouldn't have.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear you say that, Sakura-chan."

She couldn't help but be slightly confused. "What, that you make me feel happy?"

"Yes." She felt his nod against her cheek. Then he surprised her by turning his head slightly and kissing her forehead. "You know, I still love your forehead. It's just so kissable."

Sakura froze, something about his words triggering a long-buried memory. It almost immediately clicked; she brought her hands up between them and rested them on his chest, pushing herself out of his grip and looking at him, her eyes wide.

Naruto immediately panicked, his arms still reaching for her. "Sakura-chan! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say you have a big forehead, but I-"

She cut him off, one hand still on his chest but waving the other one frantically. "No no no! Go back, what did you say? What was it?!"

Naruto's face was one of horror, and his mouth opened and closed a few times. He looked upset and hung his head, slowly resigning himself to repeating it. "I... said that I... love your forehead. Because every time I see it... I don't know... it makes me want to kiss it." Looking back up, he saw tears beginning to form in her eyes, and hastily added, "I'm sorry."

She quickly shook her head, tears flying. "How... how did you know about that, what Sasuke said to me so long ago - that I dreamed he would say to me?!"

Naruto looked absolutely stricken for a moment, but then one of understanding crossed his face right after. "You dreamed it?" Suddenly appearing nervous, he lowered his gaze and looked away. "That was... me, Sakura-chan."

"W-What?"

"It was me. I surprised Sasuke when he was eating lunch and tied him up so that I could transform into him, and talk to you when you would actually listen to me. I'm the one who said that."

Sakura went rigid before slowly dropping to her knees, visibly shocked. Naruto called out her name, fearing something was wrong, and got down on his knees in front of her. She was vaguely aware of him calling her name and asking if she was okay, but it didn't quite register. Sakura was remembering... hearing what she used to daydream about... from the boy she had a huge crush on.

"I thought it was him..."

Naruto stopped calling out for her, and quieted, waiting for her to continue. Her hands were cold and clammy, he was holding them, rubbing them with his thumbs to make them warmer. While she was looking at his face, Naruto didn't feel that she was actually looking at him. She still appeared to be in a daze, almost as if she was looking through him instead.

"I thought... that he liked me. But that he couldn't say it around the others. Then he tried to play it off, like it was something that you would..." Her eyes lit up in understanding, and her increasingly bloodshot eyes finally focused on his face. "This entire time..." She shook her head quickly. "I want to love and hate you so much right now... ugh. I don't know what to think anymore."

Naruto's mouth formed a straight line, and he tried to keep his expression neutral. He was in dangerous territory right now, and if he wanted to keep his head on his shoulders he needed to be very careful.

"I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry I tricked you."

She gave him a rueful smile and sighed. "You know, if you had said that to me as yourself instead of Sasuke, I would have started liking you a lot sooner."

Naruto just frowned. "Well... you said it earlier. I'm not the brightest crayon in the box. I thought you wouldn't talk to me at all if I didn't transform."

She closed her eyes, silent for a few seconds, thinking back. "So why did you want to talk to me as Sasuke anyway? I remember you asked me about yourself..." Sakura's voice trailed off as she recalled the not-so-nice words she had for the blond, and told herself to apologize later when this conversation was finished. "I tried to explain what I was looking for from you... errr... I mean Sasuke, but then you suddenly got up and ran away."

Naruto cracked a smile. "Yeah, I got a stomach cramp. Bad timing."

She couldn't help but return the smile. "Yeah, I guess so. But what would you have done if you hadn't gotten that cramp and run off, now that I know?"

Naruto looked away, frowning now, and her smile faltered. "Please, Naruto. I won't be mad, I promise."

He turned back to her slowly, eyes downcast. "I..."

She waited, patiently. For him, she'd wait as long as she needed to.

It wasn't until she grabbed his hand that Naruto finally sighed, and looked up at her. "I wanted to kiss you."

She simply stared at him for a few seconds. Then the pink haired teen pushed up off her knees, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. By surprise. For the third time. The only difference was, unless Naruto pulled away, this time she wasn't going to stop.

No matter what.

* * *

**Edited:** March 7th, 2010

Up next: Reinforcements


	15. Reinforcements

Chapter 15

Naruto yawned and stretched, leaning back in his chair so that the two front legs lifted off the floor. He had just woken up minutes ago, yet it was already late morning. He didn't want to slack off on his training even though he had been working nonstop to get some buildings up in their outpost, but he was skirting along the edge of a very dangerous line. He had nearly exhausted himself to the point of chakra depletion late last night, garnering him several hits on the head from his mother, Sakura, and Yuugao, all regarding his tendency to partake in unhealthy activities. Ino looked ready to wallop him upside the head as well, but upon seeing the bumps and bruises from earlier beatings, she apparently decided to pity him instead.

He had wandered off to the medical building to get some pain salves before he hit the sheets, only to encounter Sakura there. Naruto smiled at the memory, she was like an entirely different person when the two of them were alone, especially after he told her what he came to get. She apologized for whacking him earlier and helped apply some of the salve on his unhealed cuts and bruises with a gentle touch. Naruto's smile turned to a frown as he recalled how good her healing chakra felt coupled with the pain salves, but he couldn't remember anything after sitting down and letting her apply the salve and healing him.

Come to think of it, he couldn't remember anything at all after that. The last thing he remembered was waking up in his cot in the recently constructed barracks. That meant he must have passed out from exhaustion...

Naruto cursed himself for making himself a burden for his... girlfriend, and made a mental note to thank her and apologize when he saw her next.

Slouching in his chair and quickly rubbing his eyes, Naruto took a look at the few items scattered about on top of the table in his office. It couldn't really be called a desk, considering it had no drawers built into it, but he wasn't exactly a carpenter either so a table was the best he could do. He was proud of the fact that with minimal guidance he could create buildings that wouldn't fall down, but without some expert help they probably wouldn't last all that long. Furniture, for some reason, was another matter entirely.

Rummaging around the few scrolls on his desk, he stacked them neatly then started tapping a finger on his forehead protector, which was folded nicely on the table. Starting to daydream as he tapped to some imaginary tune, Naruto started going over everything that had happened in the past few days. He'd have to write to the Hokage soon to give her and the Council back in Konoha an in-depth update. Either that or go there in person; Naruto figured he'd have to consult with his mother and Rin briefly to see if they wanted to go back and see Konoha. If they did, he'd just go with them, otherwise a handwritten message scroll would suffice. It had been two days since he arrived back at the outpost with the two females in tow, and he figured that it would be prudent to plan something sooner rather than later.

He could pretty much imagine what everyone else who hadn't met his mother would say and do when they met her for the first time, considering he was almost correct every time with his guesses when she met those who were currently here with them at the outpost. Ino had become hyperactive and completely giddy, while Sai just smiled and asked with complete seriousness if there was a book explaining how he should act upon discovery of a long lost relative.

Closing his eyes and resting his chin in his hands, Naruto chuckled lightly to himself, wishing he had a camera when he saw the look on his mother's face after that one. He had to bite a knuckle at the time to keep from laughing outright.

The only reaction he hadn't gotten right so far was Yuugao. He thought that she would give his mother a hard time, so he had warned her ahead of time that Yuugao was extremely protective of him. Kushina didn't quite understand how someone who had no relation to him whatsoever could be so protective, so he almost explained what his childhood was like but managed to catch himself in time. Kushina had been through enough already, he didn't want to toss the problems of his youth on her lap so soon. Not to mention Akatsuki...

Yuugao had taken it much better than he thought she would. If anything, she was eerily quiet and reserved. She had dragged Kushina off to talk privately for a while, but what they did end up talking about, Naruto never found out. Neither one would talk to him about it, and his mother didn't seem any different emotionally than she had before the two of them met. He could only begin to guess what had been discussed... but considering that his mother appeared to be fine, it couldn't have been all bad.

Rin was back to normal as well... at least as normal as Naruto had ever seen her in the few days he'd known her. She reminded him of Shizune in temperament, though not quite as openly friendly. She was definitely more reserved, and occasionally seemed like she wanted to act more openly around him, but was constantly checking herself. He had already tried to talk to her about it, but she just shook her head and stated it was something she had to work through.

Rin was still giving Naruto's old sensei Kakashi the cold shoulder whenever he was around, and didn't talk to him unless she had to. Naruto had watched his mother drag Rin off on more than one occasion to talk about something, but when they came back nothing had changed that he could notice.

Naruto had to admit though - he really, really wanted to pry. The curiosity was killing him. He started asking indirect questions over and over, trying to see how far he could push, until he caught a glare from Sakura in his peripheral vision. Realizing that the girl had caught onto what he was trying to do, he found himself no longer interested in their little spat, mostly because he didn't want to do anything to upset her. Sakura and Rin had been getting rather close, considering both of them were the only official medi-nin present. As a result, it wasn't too hard for him to fall back on old routines and feign ignorance whenever the topic of Rin, Kakashi, and their little spat had come up as a topic of gossip among the others.

He did notice that Kakashi had stopped bringing out his Icha Icha books during the day whenever Rin was around since their first meeting. It was only by chance he spotted the man up on the roof of the barracks minutes ago this morning, reading what he could before he was required to join up and do work with others. Any inquiries about Rin he tossed to his old sensei were met with deflections, and Naruto knew Kakashi well enough to know it would be futile to ask continuously.

A light knock against the open door and a gentle voice caused Naruto's eyes to snap open. Lifting his chin from his hands, he focused on the person standing in the doorway.

"Naruto-taichou?"

Naruto blinked quickly a few times before a big smile lit up on his face. "You're the first person to call me that."

A smile appeared on Rin's face immediately after. "I guess that means I can claim I was the first at something. You'd better get used to it, you'll probably be getting called that a lot from now on."

Naruto's smile only got bigger as Rin used her thumb and jerked it over her shoulder, gesturing outside. "Yuugao-san sent me to get you. One of the ANBU, I think she said his name was Genma, has returned from Konoha and is waiting for you outside. He claims that there are others with him, so he hopes you have some sort of housing built."

As Naruto leaned forward to stand up from his seat, he gave Rin a questioning look. "Others?"

Rin merely shrugged. "Civilians, perhaps? I didn't stick around long enough to find out more, I figured you'd want to know as soon as possible."

"What is baa-chan doing..." At Naruto's mumbled comment, one of Rin's eyebrows arched upward in curiosity. He wasn't paying attention to her though, so she cleared her throat to make him look at her.

"Baa-chan?"

Naruto gave Rin a lopsided grin and chuckled nervously. "Ah, yeah... I mean Hokage-sama. Long story."

"A good one, I'm sure... especially if she lets you get away with calling her that."

Naruto just chuckled and tossed Rin a wink. "Only when I bring her presents."

Rin rolled her eyes and snorted. "Well, I'll let them know you're coming." As she turned to leave, Naruto nodded, but he didn't know if she caught it so he gave her quick verbal thanks as well. She waved her hand over her shoulder as she exited the room to let him know she heard.

He looked at his forehead protector currently resting on his desk, curious as to who was waiting for him outside. Naruto had been wondering last evening before he started his training why Genma was so late in returning, the man should have been back earlier in the day. Traveling with civilians would have caused the extra day of travel, certainly.

Grabbing his forehead protector from the tabletop and tying it to his head, Naruto headed for the exit to see what was going on.

* * *

"Itachi."

The Uchiha turned his head slightly, signifying that he heard his name, but not giving verbal acknowledgment. It was apparently enough for the person calling his name, however. Either that, or the person was just used to the stoic Uchiha's demeanor.

"We have been getting some interesting information as of late. Apparently, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is no longer protected within Konoha's walls."

Itachi turned around completely this time, facing the person addressing him. His expression didn't give anything away, but the young man always seemed to be interested when the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was mentioned.

The man staring back at Itachi was the leader of the organization he had joined up with years ago, Akatsuki. Itachi noted that the man - who happened to call himself Pain - was currently residing in his favorite body. Tousled light orange hair on his head, piercings through his nose and the corners of his lips, and a unique doujutsu called the Rinnegan for eyes. Supposedly it was stronger than even a Mangekyou Sharingan, allowing its wielder to perfectly control all of the elements. That wasn't all it was rumored to do, though exactly how many of those rumors were true was impossible to decipher unless Pain was willing to talk.

That was about as likely to happen as Suna acquiring a rainy season.

It wasn't that Itachi was scared about testing Pain's eyes and their capabilities... he just didn't care enough. There were only three things in this world that Itachi cared about. No one needed to find out about them any time soon either. (Hm...okay, lemme guess those three things. Sasuke, Konoha's well-being, and...Naruto's well-being?)

Breaking the stare, Itachi turned away again, knowing that Pain came to him for a reason and would talk when ready.

"I have sent Zetsu scouting to see if he can gather more information since all of our usual contacts seem to know very little about what is going on, other than the fact that the boy is no longer present in Konoha. All we know is that he traveled north, but we are not privy to what his final destination is."

"Lightning?"

There was a slight pause. "We don't believe he has any reason to go there. The country is on the brink of a civil war, but that is no reason to send the boy there. From what you claim, he has no tact, so it's doubtful they would give him any reason to play diplomat or mediator."

"Perhaps he is being sent to meet with the Hachibi, then. They are the only two Jinchuuriki left."

Pain was silent for several moments this time as he digested Itachi's comment. "I will discuss that possibility with others. I haven't previously considered that, though I still find it to be unlikely."

Itachi gave a barely perceptible nod. "Are we going to move up the plans to capture the Hachibi then, just in case?"

"The plans concerning the Hachibi are something you do not need to concern yourself with right now. Your focus needs to remain on the Kyuubi. We have decided to save capturing the boy until last, due to yours and Kisame's previously failed attempts. It will obviously take a larger group of us to capture him. He has too many friends now, unlike the others we have captured to date."

Itachi did not say anything, so Pain continued, "Find the boy and keep track of him. We will move in to capture after we finish with the Hachibi Jinchuuriki. That is all."

Pain turned and walked away before Itachi could reply in any way... not that he would have. Looking up into the overcast sky, Itachi felt a few raindrops land on his face. Pain was starting up his detection technique again.

Putting his hat on, Itachi started his trek towards the northern edge of Fire Country. He shot a chakra pulse off towards a nearby building where his partner was. Kisame had gone to a bar while Itachi met with the leader. Upon receiving a confirmation pulse from his partner, Itachi took off. There was something he needed to do before Kisame caught up with him. The two had talked before Itachi met with Pain, and he knew that Kisame had an objective of his own to accomplish, so he had some free time.

This was going to be an easy assignment. He already knew where Naruto was.

* * *

Naruto held his hand over his eyes and squinted as the sunlight hit him in the face. The late morning sun was rising quickly into the sky, and there was barely a cloud in the sky. There was a heavy scent of water in the air from the nearby river, and Naruto stood still listening to the water slapping against the riverbank in the background.

"Naruto-taichou, we're over here."

Naruto's eyes snapped back into focus and he turned his head to the left, his gaze falling on a waving Rin, flanked by a smirking Yuugao and Genma. Giving a quick return wave, Naruto casually walked over to where they were standing. He heard Genma speak up as he approached.

"Naruto-taichou already? Not bad kid." Yuugao lightly swatted at Genma's arm, and he mock-scowled at her.

"He deserves the title, senbon boy."

Genma waved a hand about in the air. "I know, sheesh. Can't I just rib him a little before he becomes Hokage? When he does I won't be able to make fun of him anymore."

Rin was grinning, and chuckled darkly. "I don't know if you want to wait until he becomes Hokage. From what I can sense of his chakra levels, he can likely already beat you into a pulp."

Yuugao smiled at Rin, but Genma looked thoughtful as Naruto stopped next to the group. Genma started eying Naruto, but the boy didn't flinch from the gaze.

"What's wrong?"

Yuugao and Rin looked from Genma to Naruto, then back again. Genma pulled the senbon out of his mouth and started twirling it between his fingers. "Nothing is wrong. I'm just impressed with how much you've grown in such short time."

This caused the two females attention to return to Naruto once more, to see his reaction. If they had been expecting some kind of cheerful exclamation, they would be sorely disappointed. Naruto looked more pensive than anything else.

"What's with the sudden praise? I don't think I've done anything all that great recently to deserve it."

This caused Genma and Yuugao's eyebrows to shoot sky-high. Yuugao spoke up before Genma could say anything, and was loud to boot - which was uncharacteristic for her. "What do you mean, 'done nothing all that great to deserve it'? Naruto, you've been constructing buildings by yourself, with your own hands after only getting pointers! You were promoted to Tokubetsu Jounin after you passed the Gauntlet, which hasn't been used since the last war! I don't see how you can't-"

Yuugao stopped short as Genma placed a hand on her shoulder. She whirled on him, shooting him an accusing glare for derailing her speech, but he held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Yuugao, calm down. We all know those things are great, but for a guy like Naruto here, he just thinks they are things he should be able to do anyway. For him, he always has to go above and beyond, he always has to be better than what he does now. I saw the same thing when I was his proctor for his first Chuunin Exam." Genma sighed before continuing, "Granted, the determination I saw then was just a flicker of what was to come, considering what I see him doing these days."

Naruto was watching Yuugao and Genma's exchange, feeling both happy and somewhat uneasy. He felt as if he should explain his own feelings without needing someone else to do it for him. Looking over at Rin to get her reaction, he was slightly surprised to see the older woman giving him a warm smile and seeing a small tear traveling down her cheek.

"Rin-nee?"

The two ANBU looked over upon hearing Naruto's voice. Even though everyone's attention was focused on her, Rin just shrugged, though the smile remained on her face. She answered as she rubbed the corner of one of her eyes, then dragging the hand down to wipe away the tear.

"From what they're saying, you're just like your father. You look just like him too." Rin gave a light laugh as she continued. "I almost called you Minato-sensei when I saw you moments ago, instead of Naruto."

"Minato... Minato... hey... wasn't that the Yondaime's name?" Genma looked slightly perturbed, and was staring at Naruto again, as if trying to remember something.

"Oh yeah, you decided to wander off when we talked about this, didn't you senbon boy?"

Genma looked over at Yuugao. "No one told me when I asked what happened back then. Toss me a bone here?"

"Sorry, I don't have any with me."

Genma mock-pouted, then promptly turned away from Yuugao and looked back and forth between Rin and Naruto. "Can I please get a status update? I'm dying here."

Rin sighed, then pointed at Naruto. "He's the son of Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime of Konoha."

Genma's senbon fell from his fingers into the grass at his feet, his eyes bugging out of his head. "You... you're..." Sighing, he closed his eyes and rubbed his head through the bandana that was covering it. "I admit the resemblance was uncanny, but I thought it would have been big news if it was true..."

Voice trailing off, the male ANBU lethargically squatted down and absentmindedly started sifting through the grass for his senbon while taking glances at Naruto as he talked. "I know he never got married or anything, I'm sure that would have been the village gossip for months. But I did remember seeing a woman with him more than one time... my memory is kinda fuzzy from around that time though." Genma's focus turned to Rin, apparently assuming she would know, since she knew about Naruto's heritage but he had never seen her before. "Didn't she have long red hair?"

"Yes, and I still do, actually."

Genma's eyes went wide once again as Kushina landed next to Naruto in a crouch, then slowly stood up, smiling all the while. "My name is Uzumaki Kushina. A pleasure to meet you."

Glancing back and forth quickly between Naruto and Kushina, he watched as Kushina lazily wrapped and arm around Naruto's side and leaned against him with her head resting against his shoulder. Naruto stiffened slightly at first, but almost immediately thereafter shifted the arm Kushina was resting against and draped it over the redhead's shoulders.

Genma's mouth opened and closed a few times before he spoke. "Y-you're... Uzumaki... Uzumaki..." His gaze drifted off again, but it was only for a few seconds this time. He quickly stood at attention and gave a small smile and bow.

"Shiranui Genma. Nice to meet you as well. I can vaguely recall seeing you before, long ago."

Everyone couldn't help but notice the small smile turn to a frown as Yuugao chortled, mostly to herself, but loud enough so that everyone could hear. "Well well, senbon boy has manners."

"Awww come on, Yuugao-chan. My mother raised me so that I know when to be polite."

A tick mark appeared on Yuugao's forehead. "So what, when I was being introduced to your ANBU squad, you didn't feel the need to be polite? I distinctly remember a comment about my chest and my legs being very nice for one as young as I was..."

The mood of the group immediately darkened, enough to an extent that Genma started to visibly sweat. He held his hands up again, trying to pacify several upset females and a frowning jounin-captain. "N-now, I was younger then, and I never said I was always smart enough to recognize when to be polite when I was younger-"

"Naaaaaruuuutoooo-saaaaan!"

The group stopped, everyone's heads turned to see where the drawn out shout had come from.

"Hey Naruto-san!"

There was a girl walking at a brisk pace, which changed into a jog once she got Naruto's attention. Coming from one of the nearby pastures to the south, she had chestnut brown hair and was waving one arm frantically, a huge smile plastered on her face.

Naruto just groaned and started unconsciously rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "Oh, great. This is going to get interesting. Why is she here?"

The other four present turned curious eyes on Naruto as he gave a small smile and waved back. The girl stopped waving, shifted her smile into a grin, then started pointing at Naruto with wild gestures as she talked to a couple other younger looking people from the group who decided to try to keep pace with her.

"That had better not be another girlfriend, Naruto-kun... I won't allow my son to be a two-timer."

Naruto blanched as his mother pulled away and frowned at him, arms crossed. Instead of getting loud, however, he merely rubbed his forehead and sighed. "She's nothing more than an acquaintance, mom. She worked in the hospital in Konoha with Sakura-chan."

Genma looked back to the girl, who was literally bouncing all the way up to their group. "Looks like she considers you more than just an acquaintance, taichou." The three females present were obviously in agreement, as they were nodding at variable speeds.

Naruto groaned again. "If you don't believe me, just ask Sakura-chan. For some reason, I have hero-worship status among some of the civilians."

Before anyone else could say anything, a few of the civilian group reached where they were standing. Foremost among them was Yuna, who promptly ran up and gave Naruto a big hug, much to his chagrin. Nearly everyone present, even the civilians who had just arrived, were looking at the two of them with raised eyebrows. He jerkily raised his arm, then gave her a few cautious pats on the back.

Her hug didn't last more than a few seconds, much to Naruto's relief. The girl quickly hopped backwards and started speaking a mile a minute. "Naruto-san! I'm so excited to be here with you and Sakura-san! I was working at the desk two days ago when some forms arrived from the Hokage's office. I went to sort them and found out that they were job applications for a long term assignment. I remembered what Sakura-san told me about a mission she was going to be taking, and she said it would be long term. The application said that we would be helping to organize and run a new medical facility, so I immediately went to the Hokage's office and inquired. Hokage-sama's first apprentice, Shizune-san, said that we would be providing necessary medical treatment for any injured shinobi under your command, Naruto-san! That's so amazing! I'm so happy for you! I had no idea you would be in charge, as Sakura-san could only tell me so much. Actually, she wasn't supposed to tell me anything at all, but since we're good friends she said she could tell me a little. But anyway, as soon as Shizune-san said you were the one in charge, I just knew I had to apply, since I knew you and I'm good friends with Sakura-san! This is going to be awesome. By the way, where is Sakura-san? I want to surprise her!"

Naruto just stood there, blinking at the girl. She had been talking nonstop, seemingly having no need to use her respiratory functions like most normal humans. As Yuna had said more than enough for everyone, all Naruto could do was pivot slightly and point at the small medical building behind them.

"In there? Ah! Great, I'm going to go surprise her. I'll be back in a minute, Naruto-san!"

Everyone watched as the girl bounded off towards the nearby building. Slowly turning his attention back to those present, now including a few of the civilians, Naruto gave them all a wry grin

"Poor Sakura-chan."

Murmurs of agreement rippled throughout the assembled group.

* * *

The sharp sound of two sturdy pieces of steel shaped into the form of blades resonated throughout the small clearing in the forest over and over again as they impacted against one another. After a rapid series of attacks that were all blocked, the attacker and defender separated a few paces, both breathing heavily.

"I gotta admit, you're not too bad old man."

The older man with the scarred face merely smirked. "It's not every day I get a compliment from a bandit."

The younger of the two sneered, and charged at the scarred man once again, bringing his katana down in a large chopping motion. "A bandit?! I'm a mercenary, I would never stoop so low as to attack and capture people without getting paid for it first."

The ringing noise resumed as the two of them continued their battle, the scarred man's shorter blade continuously blocking the longer reaching katana over and over again.

"So you're a paid bandit. Anyone who attacks innocents is nothing more than bandit scum in my eyes."

The bandit howled in rage. "How dare you-"

"Oh, I dare." The scarred man neatly sidestepped the bandit's last attack, a large sweeping arc that was supposed to split him evenly in two down the middle. Realizing his mistake a moment too late, the bandit tried to adjust the swing, but suddenly felt his right arm go numb and cold just below the elbow.

At first, the bandit didn't seem to be aware of what was going on. It wasn't until he saw his katana hitting the ground, with his hand and forearm still attached, did he scream. Tripping backwards a few steps, the bandit grabbed at his arm as his brain tried to understand the sensations behind the loss of a limb.

"If you give up now, I will spare your life, and leave you with the authorities at the nearest village."

The bandit didn't reply, and appeared to be incoherent. He was shaking now, the loss of part of his arm was causing him to go into shock. He was staring at his severed arm on the ground, the fingers were still twitching slightly on the grip of his blade.

"Did you hear me? I said that I am willing to spare your life and take you to the nearest authorities."

The bandit snapped back from his shock-induced stupor and looked over at the scarred man, his eyes slowly coming into focus. For a moment, his face softened, until it abruptly adopted a sneer that looked even more ludicrous than the one it had been sporting moments ago.

"Fuck you!" Without warning, the bandit lunged toward his sword with the hand and arm that were still attached to his body.

There was a brief flash of silver, then the bandit's head fell to the grass and rolled two times before it came to a stop, the sneer still present. His body, which had been leaning forward in mid-lunge, crashed to the ground at the same time.

The scarred man had stepped to the side, so that the spray of blood coming from the bandit's neck would not land on him. He sighed as he watched the bandit's body twitch a few times as it crashed to the ground, only a few more small spurts of blood coming from the severed areas of it's body as the heart pumped a couple more times, then died.

Looking up through the trees into the early afternoon sky, the scarred man clucked his tongue and ran his clean hand back through his short brown and gray hair. He was lucky that his short stature usually caused people like the bandit he just killed to underestimate his abilities. The only people that ever caused him trouble in sword fights were shinobi and the occasional samurai... the ones who were trained to expect the unexpected, anyway.

"Was it really necessary to tease him like that before you killed him, sensei?"

The man turned his head slightly to see his teammate and onetime student looking at the body of the killed bandit with a look of distinct distaste. Her face was scrunched up, and if he didn't know any better, he'd think she was going to be sick. In response to her question, he merely sighed again and shrugged.

"I was merely offering him a chance to face another form of justice. He chose the justice delivered by my sword instead."

"If you say so, sensei."

The scarred man slowly walked over to an undisturbed looking patch of grass and slowly dragged his kodachi across it, cleaning off some of the blood. "Did you take care of the others?"

"Yes. Some tried to flee, but the traps we set up before we disturbed their camp took out most of them. There were two that managed to make it through, but I took care of them with no difficulty." The female walked over, watching as the man stood back up, his blade as clean as he was going to get it for now. "Did you learn anything from the man you fought?"

"He called himself a mercenary, so I'm thinking they were getting paid to do what they were doing."

The female growled. "Slavers."

"Slavers, bandits, I lump them all together. That man was no mercenary, that's for sure. All true mercenaries have at least some honor."

"I think it's horrible what they were doing to those poor people. Especially the children."

"Oh, I agree with you. Let's go check on Jun, see if he's managed to free them all."

No sooner had he finished speaking, another man of average build and height with wavy black hair and brown eyes appeared nearby. "They are all free. We have their thanks."

The scarred man nodded. "That's good to know. Should we head back to the main area of their camp and perhaps look for more clues as to their employer?"

The man named Jun shook his head. "I asked the villagers who were being taken as slaves if they knew anything, but no one could really tell me anything that we didn't already know. Nearly all of them were taken in their sleep, or gassed so that they would be knocked unconscious. They say bandits have been running around nearly unchecked for the last several years, and they rarely if ever see any patrols from Konoha."

The scarred man shook his head as the female sighed. "Sensei, I told you telling Konoha to stay away would be a bad idea in the long run. We can't cover the area of old Whirlpool alone."

"Getting help from Konoha hasn't gotten us anything good in the past."

The woman huffed indignantly. "Perhaps not, but it has never hurt us either. Stop living in the past, sensei. They couldn't do anything then, and you know it."

The scarred man looked ready to argue again, but Jun cut into the conversation before it could erupt into a full blown shouting match. "Keiji-sensei, Nayoko-chan, please. We have this argument once a week, and it gets us nowhere every time."

Jun's teammates looked ready to argue his point, but in the end, both seemed to reluctantly agree. Keiji looked around, then finally sheathed his kodachi, deciding to clean it fully when they next passed by a river. "Well, what do you two propose we do next?"

Jun shrugged, while Nayoko looked up into the sky, then turned to face what she felt was a northerly direction. "I want to go back to the ruins and investigate."

The two males looked at her like she was crazy. "Nayoko-chan, we've been there many times in the past, and every time we've visited, there has been nothing new. Why go again?"

Nayoko pursed her lips and her hands fiddled with the bottom of the tunic she was wearing. "I can't say for sure, but I think there's something we've overlooked. I feel it in my gut, especially concerning those Konoha shinobi we encountered a few days ago."

Keiji snickered. "What gut? You're a toothpick, girl."

She turned and looked at her sensei, frowning deeply. "That wasn't very nice, sensei."

The oldest of the group shrugged. "It's just the truth. Most girls would kill for your figure."

Nayoko sighed and hung her head for a few seconds, then looked back up and turned north once again. "Whatever. I still think we should go back."

Keiji looked at Jun, who merely offered a small smile and a shrug. Rubbing his forehead, it was Keiji's turn to sigh.

"Fine, we'll clean up this mess we made here. Burn the bodies, collect all the traps that weren't triggered, and see if there are any useful supplies we can raid. Let's all meet back at the remains of the camp in two hours and we'll discuss where to go from there. Agreed?"

Getting nods from his two students, they all vanished from the clearing simultaneously. All were thinking about their latest visit to the remains of Whirlpool, and the encounter with the Konoha shinobi, even though none wanted to talk about it.

* * *

Naruto folded his arms behind his back as he looked over the gathering of people in front of him. It had taken roughly an hour for the rest of the civilians to show up along with several chuunin reinforcements that were apparently on loan to him, so he had milled about and talked briefly with all the shinobi present at the outpost who came over to see what was going on.

He had read the scroll that Tsunade passed along through Genma while the rest of the civilians were still arriving at the outpost. It contained more instructions, including a request for him to come visit and give both councils an in-person status report sometime in the next two weeks. Though much sooner than anticipated, it looked like he'd have to go back to Konoha after all. He still hadn't really had a chance to talk to his mother and Rin about going with him, but he thought they might want to.

Another part of the instructions informed him of a changing of the ANBU guard for the next month. He wasn't sure how well Yuugao was going to take that news, though since Kushina was around now she might not have as much a problem with it. He would have to make a point to talk to her before she left. Kakashi was another wild card... while the man hadn't been getting along with Rin that well, Naruto was concerned that ripping them apart now if they were trying to reconcile... it could prove disastrous.

As for the rest of the scroll, it contained a bunch of good news. He was having Hinata and Kiba, two chuunin and good friends of his, placed under his command for the time being, but they would not be available until he came to report in. The scroll also contained information about the line of credit Konoha was extending to the outpost, as well as contact information for the various scattered minor villages around their location to get missions from. Strangely enough, it recommended getting most of their missions from villages in Marsh Country up north, though Naruto was unclear on what the process was for accepting missions in another country. He would have to follow up on that, probably with someone who knew politics better, like Hinata. Even though Sakura was not really interested in the politics behind the Hokage position, being around Tsunade as her apprentice likely would give her some insight as well. He'd have to check with her first, since she was currently at the outpost, while Hinata was not.

"Everyone is here and ready, taichou."

Awoken from his musings, Naruto turned to the voice. Kakashi gave him a small smile from behind his mask, and a mock salute. Naruto just grinned at the man and nodded, then turned back to the assembled group as Kakashi moved to stand with the other shinobi. Naruto cleared his throat and clapped his hands a few times, getting everyone's attention.

He smiled at the group and scratched the back of his head. "Let me start by saying that this is the first speech I've ever given, so don't be too surprised if I mess up."

Everyone chuckled, causing the tension he felt in his shoulders and back to ease some, and he felt some of his nervousness slip away. All of the civilians here seemed to be glad to be here, which he took as a plus. Naruto knew he had been gaining respect slowly but surely amongst Konoha's civilian populace, but exactly how much was still relatively unknown. That the thirty two people he had counted all apparently came here willingly would be a large help, it meant he wouldn't have to suffer attacks on his character or fight with people to keep them working.

Not to mention it would help to keep his mother sane. She didn't appear to be weak mentally or physically, but he still hadn't dropped the Akatsuki bomb on her yet, nor how he had been virtually ignored for his first twelve or so years in Konoha.

"Allow me to thank all of you who have volunteered to move your jobs to this outpost. As you can see, it isn't much to look at yet, but I've only had about a week to get up what you see behind me."

Naruto turned and gestured behind himself at the four buildings, then turned back to the group once more. He put a small smile on his face, but it quickly turned to a frown when he saw some of the looks of incredulity on the civilians' faces. One of them spoke up.

"B-but how did you manage that? No one can make buildings that fast, and from what we were told by Genma-san, there were only seven shinobi here!"

Naruto nodded. Deciding against trying to explain it verbally, he made a single, very familiar hand sign.

Without saying a word, ten clones of himself popped into existence. Several members of the group gasped.

"One advantage to being a shinobi is the jutsu we can learn. One such jutsu, called Kage Bunshin, allows me to create physical clones of myself that can do everything I can normally." Naruto tossed the scroll from Tsunade to one of the nearby clones, who caught it, then tossed it back. "The only problem is that they can't take any kind of physical damage. If they do, they dispel." Once again, as an example, Naruto punched the nearest clone in the arm so it immediately dispelled in a burst of smoke which quickly dissipated. Naruto nodded to the rest of them, and they dispelled themselves one by one.

Turning back to the group of civilians with another smile, he elaborated, "I can make dozens of those clones, and with a few tips from Genma, I was able to construct the buildings you see behind you in a matter of days. However, they are only basic, and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't last more than a month. That is where a lot of you come in."

Naruto held up the scroll from Tsunade in front of him. "Hokage-sama tells me that a bunch of you are construction workers, architects, and stonemasons. That will be a large help in actually constructing sturdy buildings at this location. It will probably end up with many of you supervising while my clones do a lot of the grunt work, at least until we have more of a population in this area. I'll explain to each of you about my clones limitations when we get started working."

He twirled the scroll in his hand, looked at it briefly, then took a breath and looked at the group once again. "The rest of you are medics in some capacity. You will be working directly under Haruno Sakura and taking instruction from her. I'm sure most if not all of you medics already know who she is."

A small chorus of agreement followed his statement, and even some of the people who likely weren't medics were nodding.

"That is about all I have to say right now, so my first speech ended up being a rather short one after all." Another small chorus of chuckles rose after he finished that line. He continued once it settled down. "Take the rest of the day to get settled in and set up plans for what you think we will need. For those of you who are architects, work together on coming up with plans for the four buildings we have up right now; we'll build new versions of old buildings, then tear down the old ones. They all need to have a focus on simplicity and utility. Consult with the medics on the medical building, and I'll talk to you all regarding the command building which will go up last. I'll follow up with all of you tomorrow morning. Sakura will do the same with medics. That is all."

There was another small chorus of agreement when he dismissed them, and as they began to disperse and chat amongst themselves, Naruto turned to the shinobi who were slightly off to the side. They all watched as Naruto walked up to them.

"As for the rest of you, tomorrow begins the real thing, I guess. I have word from baa-chan that Yamato-taichou will be headed this way, and our ANBU teams will swap for a month." Naruto focused his attention on both Kakashi and Rin when he mentioned that the teams were changing, but neither seemed to show any difference of emotion. Apparently Genma had already mentioned it to them, or they were masking their emotions very well. "Other than that, we will have to start scouting out the nearby villages and letting them know where we are if they have any mission requests. Baa-chan sent me two outstanding requests they had from Konoha, so we'll take care of those while we're out. I'll brief everyone tomorrow morning. Take the rest of the day to help the civilians get settled in. Any questions before we meet again?"

He looked around the small group, but there was only one raised hand. Kushina spoke up as he nodded to her.

"May I request to go look at the ruins tomorrow before we leave?"

Naruto nodded. "I don't think you're considered an official shinobi, considering we're the only ones who know you're alive. So until the time comes that your status is known, you're free to do what you want. The same goes for Rin." Naruto looked at the medi-nin, who nodded affirmatively to him.

"That's true, but I was going to request that you come with me."

Naruto looked at his mother again, slightly puzzled. Nearly everyone else was as well, since the attention of the group seemed to be focused on her. "I guess I can come before I do assignments. Can I ask why now, or do you want to tell me later?"

Kushina shrugged. "There is just something I want to show you. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

Though the response was vague, Naruto just nodded to her. He'd just find out what was up tomorrow. "Very well." Making eye-contact with a few others in the group, he added one last thing, "If there are no further questions, I'll meet up with all of you tomorrow."

Since no one spoke up, he waved and turned away from the group. "Alright then. I'm going to go read up on seal information I was given. If anyone needs me, I'll be... I'll be in my office."

He stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder, no one had moved yet.

"I always wanted to say that."

The group started breaking up to do their own things amidst a chorus of laughter.

* * *

**Edited:** March 7th, 2010

Up next: The Cleaning


	16. The Cleaning

Chapter 16

If there was one thing Naruto knew for certain, it was definitely one of the strangest mornings he had woken up to. For the first time he could remember since arriving near the Whirlpool Ruins, he couldn't hear a bird chirping. Nor was there any insect noises. Even the splashing of water from the river sounded muffled.

Looking up to the sky, there seemed to be some sort of haze overhead. Squinting his eyes, Naruto realized that he could only figure out the approximate location of the sun in the sky. He had met with the construction workers early in the morning as they were preparing blueprints for the first buildings of the outpost, and he had clearly seen the sun on the horizon. There wasn't a cloud that he could see, but the haze or fog or whatever it was surrounding them was so thick he could barely see more than a few dozen meters in front of himself.

"Man, this is creepy..."

"What was that?" Naruto almost crashed into Kushina's back as she stopped walking to turn and look at him. He was too busy observing what little surroundings he could see to notice she stopped, and his mother had to place a hand on his chest to keep him from walking into her.

Naruto gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry. I was just saying that it feels... strange out here."

Giving her son a nod and a small smile, she turned and started walking again. Kushina turned her head slightly to talk to him over her shoulder as he fell into step behind her once again.

"Yeah, the pool has a strange effect on the environment when it gets dirty and someone able to clean it is near. It must have not been cleaned for a long time."

"The pool... if I know what you're talking about, then yeah, it looked really dirty."

Kushina merely nodded, but didn't say anything further.

"So, uhm... how exactly can this pool affect the environment?"

"Just as you can see and hear around you." Kushina made a wide gesture with her arms, both to the ruins around them and up towards the sky. "The pool isn't really sentient, nor is it technically alive, but it has it's own sort of weird chakra system."

Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion, even though Kushina wasn't looking at him. "I thought something had to be alive in order to have a chakra system?"

His mother shrugged. "I don't know. I never really paid attention in school."

When her son started snickering behind her, she stopped short again, turning around and facing him with a scowl on her face and one hand planted on her hip. "What?! I can't help it if it was boring! The teachers and their lectures that just went on and on..."

As Naruto started to laugh outright, her scowl only deepened. Turning on her heel, she let out a 'humph' and started walking again.

"Now you're going to tell me you were an excellent student, so I feel bad, right?"

Naruto chuckled again before he answered. "No, actually... I was probably a worse student than you."

"I don't know, I was pretty bad..."

Somehow Naruto knew she was pretending to be upset with him. Her voice never contained any hint of aggression, so he just continued playing along.

"But did you fail your graduation exam three times?"

Kushina blasted out a laugh. "Three times? Wow... you really were horrible. Never mind, you win."

They both snickered quietly for a few more moments before they finally came to an area of the ruins that Naruto recognized. As the dilapidated fence came into view, he confirmed to himself that they were close to the dirty pool of water he had seen before.

"Looks like we're finally here." Kushina jogged up and hopped over the fence, then walked up close to the pool of water. Placing her hands on her hips, she looked out over the body of liquid and let out a sigh.

Naruto slowly walked up next to her, then squatted down, looking closely at the pool. The surface seemed to be coated in a thin layer of grime, so it was hard to tell just how deep it was.

"I can't believe how dirty it is. I've never seen it like this."

"The... pool, you mean? These are ruins, after all."

Kushina snorted, then looked at Naruto and rolled her eyes. "Yes, the pool. I guess there really are no Uzumaki left, if none have come to clean it. Unless they are all in hiding... but why...?"

Kushina's thoughts and voice drifted off, exactly where to... Naruto hadn't the slightest idea. She was standing still, looking out over the water. Shifting his focus, Naruto's gaze once again rested on the dirty water. Curiosity getting the better of him, he stretched his hand out and prepared to dip it into the water for no reason other than to see how thick the layer of grime on top of the water was.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you."

Naruto's hand was hovering just over the water, his fingertips barely above the surface. He pulled his hand back, and looked at his mother again, giving her a curious look. She was merely smirking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"Because it'll give you some nasty chakra backlash."

Naruto's face scrunched up. "Never heard of something like that."

Kushina laughed. "I'm not surprised. It's not something that happens very often, if at all. It just means that the pool fill forcibly inject chakra continuously into your system, so after a while the part of your body that's touching the water will start to burn really bad."

Naruto simply made an 'oh' face, and looked back out over the water once again. Standing back up, Naruto stretched his legs and looked around. Sounds were still dull, and the area around them was still hazy.

"I still don't have any kunai. I need to clean the pool... can you spare one?"

Blinking, Naruto didn't understand what she was getting at. "A kunai to clean? What's going on?"

Kushina just sighed, then looked at Naruto and rolled her eyes. "I'll explain later, just toss me one."

Naruto shrugged and reached into his kunai pouch, quickly sticking his finger into the ring end of the first kunai he felt, then lifting it out of the pouch and lightly tossing it over to his mother. She surprised him by catching it by the handle without looking. It wasn't until he heard her gasp that he realized exactly what he had tossed her way.

She was holding the three-pronged kunai very carefully in her hands, as if it would break if she was rough with it in any sort of way. "W-Where... when did you get... this?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Ah, sorry. I didn't know I had brought that with me. Yamanaka Inoichi gave it to me."

Kushina slowly nodded, her eyes never leaving the kunai. "Do you have more?"

"No, the Sandaime confiscated them all after... after Dad died." Naruto paused for a moment. He felt strange, for lack of a better way to explain it - referring to the Yondaime as his father. Perhaps it was even more strange than it would have been otherwise because it was his mother who he was talking to. But it was a good strange... it would just take some getting used to.

" I see. Can you use the... you know...:"

Naruto frowned slightly and looked away. "Not really. I did once... by accident. It almost..."

He drifted off and didn't finish, still super-aware of how sensitive his mother's mind may be. It didn't seem to phase her at all though, as she looked at him with a frown.

"It almost killed you, didn't it?"

Even though he didn't want to, he nodded. He saw her smile grimly, then look at the kunai again. "The first time Minato tried it, he almost died, too. Seeing him in the hospital... it was the hardest I ever recall crying back then. Thank Kami that Tsunade was nearby."

"Baa-chan is the one who healed me too."

Even though it was a somewhat somber mood, Kushina's mouth twitched upward slightly. "Baa-chan?"

"Yeah... I'm the only one allowed to call her that, though. She still beats me up even when I do it sometimes."

Kushina sighed. "Well I probably would too." Shaking her head and chuckling, she held up the kunai in one hand and looked at it again. "I guess it is rather ironic, yet appropriate that I have this to clean the pool with."

Naruto was puzzled again, but didn't say anything this time, or else she'd never get a chance to clean since he was asking all these questions.

"You might want to take a few steps back, or else you might get drenched."

Naruto took several big steps backward without complaint or even asking why. His mother watched him move backward, then when he stopped she turned back to the pool. He watched her back as she moved her arms slightly so that her hands could be placed together.

She was making a hand seal, perhaps even a few, but Naruto was unable to see more than the occasional twitch of her shoulders and upper arms. She stopped for a moment, then made a jerking motion with one of her arms... the one that was holding the kunai.

She let out a small grunt that Naruto was able to hear rather clearly in the muffled environment. He was about to step forward to find out what happened when she held out her other arm over the water, and he watched as something red... her blood... started dripping into the pool.

Naruto felt the wind start picking up around him, and then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Itachi had been traveling all night and was getting tired. His feet and calves were burning as he hopped from tree to tree and ran along clearings. He was getting further and further from where he had left Kisame behind, though it would be easy enough for the man with shark features behind to find him so long as Itachi was wearing the ring given to him by Pain. The one that all members of Akatsuki have.

Which meant if he wanted to talk to Naruto, he'd have to be quick about it.

Pondering how exactly to approach the boy, a sudden huge spike of chakra caused him to stumble. He stopped and tried to grasp what it was that he felt, but the sensation had disappeared barely seconds after he felt it.

No one person could put out that much chakra then extinguish it just as quickly. Unless... there were rumors about the past... and he was heading in that direction...

Itachi pushed more chakra into his feet and legs, driving him on even faster still.

* * *

Following the stream, Keiji and the other two on his team were heading towards the old ruins of Whirlpool to investigate it yet again. Nayoko claimed her gut was telling her to go back, so the trio decided to head there to appease her. It wasn't like they had anything else important to do anyway. Even though they weren't rushing, Keiji felt they were making rather decent time. If they continued at this pace, they should arrive at the ruins within the hour.

As he was reviewing the distance markers in his mind - he'd traveled this route many times - he rather abruptly felt his awareness expand to a much greater magnitude than he was used to. His chakra detection senses were always greater than the average shinobi's... it was in nearly everyone who was born and raised properly as an Uzumaki.

Before his ability overwhelmed him, he cast a quick glance toward Nayoko. She was the other in their team with the Uzumaki blood, but he didn't think she'd ever felt her ability be activated when she wasn't in control.

Landing on a branch, he barked out a quick message for them to stop, then braced himself against the tree branch. "Jun!"

Jun was looking at him curiously, and jumped back towards Keiji, who then immediately started waving him off frantically. Jun stopped a branch away as Keiji started gesturing and pointing wildly towards Nayoko, who was watching her sensei with something akin to panic.

Keiji grunted as the effect started to take hold full force. He could feel his heartbeat in his head, and upon squeezing his eyes shut, he suddenly became aware of every living thing within kilometers. It would have been awesome to behold, if it didn't hurt so much.

The pounding in his head was overwhelming, he was barely aware enough to register Nayoko screaming. Managing to look up and open one of his eyes, he opened it just enough so he could watch with horror as Nayoko grabbed at her hair and fell from the branch she was standing on.

He tried to stand up, to move, but his ability was overwhelming him. It was taking all the concentration he had not to pass out. Grunting, he managed to move away from the trunk of the tree a little, and prepared to jump down and catch Nayoko before she hit the ground below.

Before he could move, a black streak flew through the forest and caught her just before she hit the bottom. He was unable to focus, but he could have sworn the person who caught Nayoko looked up at him before they disappeared. Closing his eye again, he grunted and fell to one knee on the branch, rubbing his temples and trying to regain control of his ability.

"Sensei?"

Jun's voice was a welcome penetration into Keiji's mind, and it was all the man could do to nod his acknowledgment.

"What happened to you and Nayoko, Keiji-sensei?"

Keiji heard Jun speaking, but his ability going full tilt was too much for him to be able to concentrate on what was being said. Unfortunately, there was only one immediate solution without straining himself to regain control. Reaching into one of the pouches on his belt, Keiji pulled a kunai from it.

"Sensei? Sensei!"

Jun's voice was full of panic as Keiji jammed the kunai into his other hand. Keiji grunted from the pain, but did not cry out. The pain in his hand slowly overwhelmed his ability, allowing him to get it back under control. He left the kunai there, sticking out of the palm of his hand, as he turned to Jun and was finally able to open his eyes again.

"That was... completely unexpected." Keiji noticed that Jun has apparently been the one to save Nayoko, she was lying on one of the largest branches nearby, clearly unconscious. "Did you... catch her?"

Jun glanced at Nayoko before turning back to Keiji. "No... someone else did, but they left right after they set her down. I did not see them very well. What... happened, exactly?" The young man appeared to be completely baffled.

"Huh... well at least she's alright. Anyway, it would seem as if someone cleaned Whirlpool."

Jun's expression did not change. "Cleaned Whirl... you mean fixed up the ruins? But how?"

Keiji grunted in pain once again as he pulled the kunai out of his hand. Sighing, he sat down on the branch, dangling his legs over the side. "Do you remember the dirty pool of water in the ruins?"

"Yes. It's hard to forget anything in there."

Keiji chortled, then sighed as he looked at his hand. Watching for a moment as his blood dripped from his hand down to the forest floor below, he shifted slightly and moved his hand over toward Jun. "Please?"

Jun merely nodded, moving a little closer and squatting down as he grabbed onto his sensei's hand. Telltale signs of healing chakra began to appear as a gentle green glow surrounded their hands.

"That pool was in the very center of the old Whirlpool village. It's what allowed those of us with even some Uzumaki blood to pick up the chakra detection trait which we used to be known for. The village was built around it - supposedly to protect it."

"Why?"

"Because the pool is what allowed the Uzumaki to become incredible scouts. The best among us could detect incoming targets from dozens of kilometers away. That's why our village was targeted in the Third War."

"If enemies were detectable from so far away, why wasn't Whirlpool able to be protected in time?"

Keiji sighed, drudging up memories that he long ago tried to forget. Jun was too young to really remember what had happened, as was Nayoko. They were both barely into their twenties as it was. "We did detect them, but their numbers were too great."

Jun's grip on Keiji's hand tightened. "What of our allies? Why didn't they come to help? Is that what you and Nayoko were talking about earlier when she said there was nothing that could be done?"

Keiji nodded slowly. "Back then, both Grass Country and Whirlpool Country were allies of Fire Country. Grass was attacked by Earth Country barely a week before we were, so Fire sent much of their forces there to help the armies of Grass repel the Earth invasion. They succeeded, mostly in part because of the man the world knows as the Yellow Flash."

"Really? Wow..."

Keiji chuckled, but it sounded bitter. "Yes. He was quite the incredible warrior. However, Earth pulled off a two-pronged attack somehow. While they were distracting Fire's forces in Grass Country, they came for Whirlpool from the sea."

"Oh..."

"Oh indeed. We were all but obliterated, and many of those who managed to escape Earth's attack fled to Fire. Fire did send us help, but all they could spare was their esteemed Sannin and a handful of chuunin. By the time they arrived, it was too late to be of any help."

Jun grimaced, then released Keiji's hand. The older man brought his hand up to his face and flexed it a few times, then grunted in satisfaction. "Nice work. Thanks."

"Sure."

Keiji swung his legs around back up onto the tree branch, then pushed himself to his feet. "I'll carry Nayoko for the next few kilometers, hopefully she'll regain consciousness before long. We're not that far from the ruins anyway."

Jun nodded as he helped Keiji get Nayoko onto his back. Draping the unconscious girl's arms over his sensei's shoulders, he checked quickly to make sure she was not injured.

"Nayoko-chan is uninjured, so she should wake up soon."

Keiji grunted as he stood back up. "Good, let's go. Someone cleaned Whirlpool, and I want to find out who."

* * *

"Unghh..."

Orochimaru stopped walking down the long hallway and turned to look at one of his assistants. The girl with long red hair and glasses had fallen to her knees and was clutching at her temples while moaning softly. He turned to look at his other assistant walking next to him, Kabuto. With a single nod in his direction, Kabuto moved over to Karin and crouched down.

"What's wrong?"

"I... I don't know... unghh..."

Kabuto didn't offer her any sympathy, and his voice gained a hard edge.

"Describe it."

Karin's eyes were closed shut tightly, and she was breathing hard. "My... my ability to sense chakra sources just went... haywire. I've never been able to sense... this much before."

"Can you stop it?"

She spoke through clenched teeth. "I'm trying... it's not easy."

Kabuto stood back up and turned his gaze back to Orochimaru. The Sannin was looking at the girl with what appeared to be mild curiosity. He had stumbled upon the girl purely by chance one day, she was weak and sick. Her home village was likely located somewhere in Grass Country, as he found her near the border of Grass and Fire back when he was searching for followers. She was delirious, and didn't remember the name of the village, though he had never really asked. All she knew was that it had been attacked by bandits, and everyone but her was killed because she could sense them coming.

Unraveling her special ability was still a mystery to him, to this day. At first he thought she was simply a sensor-type, but her detection abilities had far surpassed any sensor he had known before. He knew little about a clan of great scouts before the Third War, but they had all been wiped out. He hadn't started with his experiments in earnest back then, but had so far been unsuccessful in replicating their useful abilities. Karin was the closest thing resembling them that he could remember, though she still was not up to par with the greatest members of that now extinct clan. She had, however, been a reliable subordinate - much like Kabuto, ever since he had taken her under his wing. He would give her a chance to explain further when... whatever was happening... was under control.

"Let us leave her to get her abilities under control, Kabuto. If she needs our assistance, she will come."

As the two men turned to walk down the hallway, Karin looked up and managed to crack one eye open as she fought valiantly to regain her focus and her senses.

She noticed a glimmer of red from a darker part of the hallway before her world went black.

* * *

The air around Naruto appeared to have gained a life of it's own. Where it was nice and quiet before, wind now whipped around him in random directions, constantly changing. The haze which was surrounding them started to move, being drawn inward. Naruto watched, amazed, as the water started swirling and almost... glowing.

Kushina took a step back and let her hands fall to her sides, watching as well. The swirling water started forming a column that was rising up in the very middle of the pond. Naruto saw the haze that was surrounding them get sucked into pseudo-geyser. It took the appearance of an inky blackness in the center of the column, and it was visible as it traveled down along the middle.

Before Naruto could ask what was going on, the column of water in the middle of the pool lost all cohesion, and crashed down back into the pool in a giant splash. It wasn't the water that knocked Naruto over, however. A giant chakra shockwave blasted out from the center of the pool. Kushina seemed prepared, as she had braced herself and didn't budge. Naruto, on the other hand, was completely bowled over.

"Gah!" Naruto was knocked backward, his back plowing through the rickety fence behind him. The water had apparently settled down as Kushina rushed over.

"Ah, Naruto! I'm sorry... I didn't mention the shockwave. It's been so long that I honestly forgot about it until just a moment ago. I barely had time to brace myself."

Kushina offered a hand and Naruto took it. She was stronger than the size of her frame suggested, pulling him up so hard and fast that he nearly lost his footing and fell forward onto his face.

"What was that?"

Kushina looked confused. "What was what?"

Naruto frowned. "The thing that just completely knocked me away."

"Oh! That was a chakra shockwave. I told you that the pool has it's own chakra source before. It's not really alive, but there are some things it can do that might make it seem that way."

Naruto followed his mother as they both moved closer to the pool. It was a clear crystal blue now. It was still impossible to tell how deep the pool was exactly, the surface looked like a mirror... reflecting everything perfectly.

"Will the others come investigating?"

Kushina shook her head negatively. "I warned a few of them this morning what may happen before we left. They should inform the rest, in case anyone asks."

Naruto didn't say anything in response, simply looking back out over the pond again. He could see the sun now, and it was reflecting brightly off the surface of the water. The noises he couldn't hear clearly before were back now as well... whatever that haze was, it had almost completely cut off all noise in the area, and had done a considerable job dimming the light around them. He heard Kushina sigh, and turned to look at her once again.

She was scratching her chin, looking out over the pond still. "Well, I guess now we wait."

"Huh?"

Turning to Naruto with a small grin, she shrugged her shoulders. "If anyone with Uzumaki blood is alive, cleaning the pool always makes chakra detection abilities go crazy. They'll be coming to investigate, if they know about it."

"It didn't seem like you had any trouble..."

Kushina tossed Naruto a big grin. "That's because I was prepared. I already had my chakra sensing abilities going at full capacity. Anyone who didn't just got a big headache."

"So they might not be happy if they decide to show up."

Kushina laughed. "Probably not, but they should be happy for the reunion."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle a little. Gazing out over the pond once again, he couldn't help but wonder, "You said that detection ability is an Uzumaki blood trait? But it's not a Kekkei Genkai?"

Kushina looked at him once again, but this time with a serious expression. "It sometimes gets mistaken for a Kekkei Genkai. I don't know the history behind it, but only someone who had at least one parent who has Uzumaki blood could get the trait activated. It's not a Kekkei Genkai because it needs an external source to activate it. I do not know how we originally gained the ability either... but I do know that our clan had been here since before the nations formed. Somewhere in the ballpark of three hundred years."

Naruto's face morphed into a look of intrigue, though was obviously more interested in the pool itself rather than the history behind it. "So the ability has to be turned on? What turns it on?"

Kushina gestured to the pond. "The Whirlpool."

Now Naruto was just confused. "How? Swim in it?"

The redhead laughed loudly. "No, if you were to swim in the Whirlpool when it was active, you'd likely drown. In order to have the ability activated, when you are no more than an hour old you need some of the Whirlpool's water rubbed on your chest, just above your heart. That's the first step, and gives the Whirlpool a hold on your very soul. At least, that's how it was explained to me, but it's probably nothing quite so fancy. My first sensei was good at embellishment."

Naruto looked down and unzipped his vest. Opening up the front, he looked at his chest and absentmindedly rubbed right over his heart. He looked at his mother, curiosity all over his features. "Was it done to me?"

Kushina gave him a small smile. "I don't know why I did it, but I had Rin put water on you immediately after you were born. I always kept some of the Whirlpool's water with me, just in case. In fact, I still have some left, packed with my things. Maybe I held onto it for nostalgia, or some other purpose I can't explain..."

"So then how do I do that sense-thing you can do?"

Kushina laughed yet again, but then shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately I don't have the swords. I need those to actually activate Whirlpool, so it will recognize me as the person in charge."

Naruto's vision glazed over for a moment. Something clicked. "There are two swords we found not too far in a shrine from here."

His mother's eyes went wide and she looked ready to bounce around in hyperactivity. "Really? Can you take me to them?"

Naruto shrugged. "I think I remember where they are. Should we go now?"

Kushina nodded emphatically, getting behind Naruto and pushing him forward gently. "Lead on!"

* * *

Sakura deftly moved through the small groups of people in their temporary medical building as she headed for her desk nearby.

Her desk. Just that thought brought a smile to her face. Naruto had put her in charge of the outposts' medical facilities, and placed anyone with medical experience under her authority. There were a few people present who had many more years of experience in the medical field, but yet they had all agreed that she should be the one in charge.

Sakura couldn't help but feel proud. Not only for herself, but that her boyfriend - yes, they had talked and it was official now - managed to get himself into a position that also allowed her to prove what she could do.

Finally reaching her desk, she noticed there were some new papers resting on top. Grabbing them to examine them closely, she noticed they were some blueprints for the new medical building. Apparently the architects had managed to draw up a rough draft of what the medical folks were looking for. They just needed her to go over them to finalize the plans.

Looking back up and taking a glance around the large room, Sakura spotted one of the architects from earlier still in the building. He was having a one on one conversation with one of her medical personnel and taking notes... so apparently they weren't completely done yet. They had said in the beginning that it would likely be a few days before they even started any kind of actual construction.

"Hey, Forehead."

Pulled from her thoughts, Sakura looked to her side to see Ino walking up casually. The girl had been scarce lately, working overtime on getting the garden producing as fast as possible. They hadn't been there for very long, but having fish every single day for both lunch and dinner was getting old fast. There was no point in breaking into the supplies they had brought at this point right now, though with the influx of civilians they might not have a choice in the coming weeks.

"Feels like it's been forever since I saw you last, Ino-pig."

Ino just grinned as she came to a stop next to Sakura. It didn't last for more than a few seconds, however, as a serious look immediately settled on her features.

"Did you feel that pulse a few minutes ago?"

The choice of topic startled Sakura, it took her a few seconds to go over what she remembered moments ago, plus what she had been told earlier by Kushina.

"Huh? Yeah... I felt it. Kushina-san said that we might sense some chakra for a couple seconds. She said she had something planned, but didn't say what it was. Just that it was something she had to do."

Ino just shivered and hugged herself, rubbing her bare arms. "It didn't feel natural. It's like they explained in school, all chakra has some kind of feeling to it. Most humans have a chakra that feels good..."

Sakura interrupted Ino and continued the speech, waving her hand in a rolling motion and nodding. "... plants feel comforting if the foliage is dense enough, demonic beings cause a feeling of unease and sickness..." Sakura's words drifted off, but she added enough to let Ino know that she remembered what they were taught.

Ino nodded, then looked out one of the few windows they had in the makeshift medical building. "This chakra had no feeling to it at all. It felt empty, which was really weird."

Sakura frowned, then looked out the window as well. "You're right. It was strong enough that some of the civilians felt it too."

Ino turned back to Sakura, surprised. "Whoa, really? I didn't think it was that strong."

Sighing, the pinkette looked at her friend. "It wasn't really. From what I understand, a normal human wouldn't really react to chakra around them, because they are accustomed to it. It's only when we feel it in large amounts that we can feel another human's chakra. Humans are sensitive to chakra that we don't feel normally."

It was barely a whisper, but Sakura heard what Ino said next crystal clear.

"Or a demon's."

Sakura nodded, smiling grimly. "Yes, a demon's. Or the unnatural chakra we felt earlier. It was definitely unique, and powerful."

"Do you think it's dangerous?"

"No. If it was, I doubt Kushina-san would have activated it."

Ino still looked uncomfortable. Before Sakura could do anything to reassure her friend, she was interrupted by another voice.

"Sakura-san, are you free for a second? I'm sorry to interrupt, Ino-san."

"It's alright, Yuna-san, what's up?" Sakura looked at her friend, it was unusual for Yuna to impose herself on anyone unless it was urgent. Ino was looking at the girl with a tight smile, but Yuna's concerned expression caused Sakura to ignore Ino and focus on the new arrival.

"Well, I was talking with some of the other medical staff... a lot of us felt something earlier, and we feel strange. It's like an itching sensation... but we don't really itch. It's odd."

Sakura tapped a finger on her chin, casting Ino a small glance before turning back to Yuna. "How long ago did it start?"

Yuna paused for a second. "I want to say about ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago?"

Sakura nodded, then turned to Ino. The blond was still looking at Yuna, and Sakura was beginning to wonder if she really was -that- upset they were interrupted. They had met each other late yesterday, and had immediately gotten of to a great start... or so it had seemed. "Sounds like a case of mild chakra backlash to me. Wouldn't you agree, Ino?"

The blond did not respond, but kept staring ahead. Yuna was shuffling her feet slightly, apparently beginning to get uncomfortable under Ino's gaze. "Ino?"

Ino blinked once, then twice, and her head snapped over to look at Sakura. "Huh? Yeah, sorry. I was thinking about something else for a sec."

Sighing, Sakura ran her hand back over her hair as she turned to Yuna once again. "It sounds like a very mild case of chakra backlash. There was a spike of chakra about fifteen minutes ago, and we were close enough to the epicenter for you guys to be mildly affected by it. It will pass in the next hour."

Yuna looked confused. "I thought chakra backlash only affected you if you had foreign chakra forcibly injected..."

As she drifted off, Sakura simply nodded. "It was strong enough to affect you adversely. The only reason Ino and I weren't affected is because we're trained to handle foreign types of chakra. We still felt weird, though."

Satisfied with the answer, Yuna gave Sakura a small smile... though her eyes seemed to be looking over Sakura's shoulder. The pink-haired kunoichi began turning back to Ino so she could confirm the girl was in fact okay, and caught Ino's hand's rapidly moving back to her sides from the corner of her eye as she turned.

"Ino?"

Ino tried to look innocent, raising her eyebrows and shrugging as she waved one hand around. It didn't fool Sakura for a moment, however, and she spoke in a low growl, "What did you do, Ino-pig?"

Ino was trying hard not to smile, but it was the voice from behind Sakura that stopped the interrogation before it really started.

"Ah, Sakura-dsn, Ino-san is trying to get me to ask you a question, I think. It's one that I'm curious about as well."

Raising an eyebrow, Sakura propped herself up and sat on the top of her desk, letting her legs dangle slightly on the floor. "What would that be, Yuna?"

Yuna took a moment to look at Ino, who gave her a nod. Yuna blushed slightly, then asked her question in a rather timid voice, unusual for the normally somewhat bold girl.

"We're wondering how things are between you and Naruto-kun?"

Eyebrow rising higher because of how Yuna referred to Naruto, she hastily thought up something to tell them both.

"We had a nasty fight and now aren't talking to each other. Why?"

"WHAAAAT?!" Ino's loud screech brought the attention of the few remaining people in the building to all look at her in surprise, while Yuna and Sakura just covered their ears and winced. None of that caused Ino to pause at all.

"Why did you guys fight? About what? Naruto isn't talking to you? That's so unlike him! I bet it was all you, Forehead..."

Ino crossed her arms and turned away slightly, muttering all the while. Yuna, meanwhile, was looking back and forth between the two of them, expression changing between shock and sadness.

It was all Sakura could do to keep herself from laughing outright, and eventually a snicker worked its way out of her mouth. She quickly clamped her hand over her mouth, but it was too late... both girls turned to look at her.

"You're lying, Forehead."

That made Sakura laugh outright, which she soon managed to stifle into a small bout of giggles. Yuna merely looked confused now, while Ino was positively glowering.

"I-I'm sorry Pig... I wanted to see how you would react."

Though she didn't say anything, Ino's eyes narrowed, letting Sakura know she wasn't happy. Sakura just sighed and leaned forward a little, kicking her dangling legs a little harder as she looked back and forth between the other two girls.

"We're both fine. Great, actually."

"Just great? That's it?" It was Yuna who spoke this time. Sakura cursed inwardly, knowing she wouldn't get out of this one. For some reason Yuna had an incredible sense for when someone was hiding something.

Looking down and feeling the blush creep up on her face, she managed to ground out a few quiet words. "...dating."

"Speak up Forehead, we can't hear you if you're mumbling."

Sakura looked up, letting the girls see the blush which covered her face. "I said... we agreed to start dating."

Yuna's hands shot up and covered her mouth, while both girl's eyes went wide. It didn't take long for both of them to gather their collective senses and start tossing questions Sakura's way. The girl held up her hands in a placating gesture, trying to stymie the tide of them and not get overwhelmed.

"Whoa, whoa... one at a time, and I don't have to answer if I don't want to."

Ino stuck out her tongue. "Awww, you're no fun."

Yuna nodded her head rapidly. "Details, we want details!"

The pink haired kunoichi looked back and forth between her two friends. "Since when did both of you agree to start ganging up on me?"

Ino smirked and Yuna giggled slightly before she answered. "About two minutes ago, when Ino-san was gesturing to me behind your back."

Sakura just sighed and shook her head. "I should have known." Upon hearing their snickers, Sakura rolled her eyes and continued. "We had a decent talk yesterday, and agreed to start dating officially. That's all."

Ino let out an unladylike snort, briefly reminding Sakura of Naruto's past comment of her sounding like a pig when she did that, and immediately pouted. "Aww, come on. I know there had to be a kiss in there."

Yuna nodded in agreement, then lightly poked Sakura in the shoulder. "Maybe there was some touchy-feely, or some groping going on too, eh? Eh?"

Sakura spluttered indignantly, but the heavy blush on her face was answer enough. Waving her arms frantically, the other two girls started squealing in glee for a second before they were suddenly quieted by a deep, crisp voice.

"As amusing as this conversation may become, I need you ladies to tell me where Naruto-kun is. It's urgent."

All three turned toward the door quickly to see who had decided to barge in uninvited on their conversation.

"Who the hell are you?" Ino was giving the newcomer the once-over, her eyes squinted. Yuna appeared unperturbed, but Sakura gasped after only a second. Both of the other girls and the newcomers eyes focused on the pinkette.

"Do you know who that is, Forehead?"

Sakura nodded slowly, her hand inching towards the kunai pouch on her belt. While she had only briefly encountered someone disguised using his appearance before, it only took her a second to recognize the uncanny resemblance. She had no idea how the man had managed to find their location so fast, how he managed to slip past everyone else nearby... and especially why he didn't have his cloak on.

"Sakura?" Ino's voice had a slight twinge of worry in it, the girl must have noticed Sakura's hand reaching for her pouch. The man in front of her had noticed as well.

"Uchiha Itachi."

The sharingan flared to life.

* * *

**Edited:** March 21st, 2010

**Up next:** Blood Trait


	17. Blood Trait

Chapter 17

Naruto sighed for what must have been the umpteenth time as he sat cross-legged on the ground near the shimmering pool of water. It weirded him out a little since there was a light breeze in the air but not even a single shimmer on the surface of the body of liquid. Though it looked like water, it had some strange properties that made it seem like it really _couldn't_ be. Currently the pool was completely still, reflecting everything like a perfect mirror. Needless to say, it was rather unnerving. He had resisted several urges to stick his hand into the water-like substance, not caring about the supposed backlash his mother told him about, or even throw something in there just to disturb the surface. It was mostly the fear of upsetting his new-found mother in any way that kept him from doing what he might have done had it only been a few weeks ago.

Thoughts of his mother is what brought him back to why he was currently sitting here, totally bored. Kushina had looked ecstatic as he was leading her to where the two swords were that they had located in the shrine on their previous scouting mission, and she starting bouncing around with happiness when they finally came within eyesight. It was all a rather... surreal experience to see someone acting just how he used to. He couldn't keep the small blush off his face when he realized just how silly he must have looked all those times he was offered ramen for free.

She didn't let him hang around for long though, she had to do some other kind of ritual to let her even be able to touch them without them repelling her. Naruto had started to question this, but she held up a hand and promptly told him that he didn't need to worry about her since she didn't need to cut herself or even draw blood again for this particular ceremony.

It wasn't what he was going to say, but she didn't seem to be willing to listen to anything at that particular time anyway, so he simply shrugged and let it be as she continued talking.

Kushina had told him to go back to the pool and wait in case others decided to show up, or anyone stopped by to investigate. He asked her what to tell them in case anyone did show up, and she merely suggested that they all wait. She didn't know how long it would take for her to complete the ceremony to be able to hold the swords, but all would become clear once she had them in her hands.

Sighing yet again, Naruto plucked at a few random blades of grass then rubbed his fingers together, watching as the light breeze blow them a couple meters away. It felt like she had been gone for an hour, but in all reality, it had probably only been fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. He was utterly bored.

When he was bored, he got antsy.

When he got antsy, that usually meant he would go out and cause some kind of havoc or play pranks in Konoha, or even go train to work off some of the energy. But he obviously wasn't in Konoha, and there was work to be done at the outpost before he could lend his energy to any training, so...

"It's you again. Explain yourself."

A voice that he vaguely recognized spoke nearby, interrupting his thoughts. Completely shocked that someone got as close as they did to him without him sensing their presence, he tried to quickly leap to his feet. Much to his chagrin, and probably the others amusement, he couldn't balance himself properly because one of his legs decided to fall asleep, and therefore promptly fell back onto his rear end.

Letting out a little yelp before scrambling back to his feet and leaning on his leg that was not asleep, then turned to look at the person who had spoken to him with an embarrassed grin.

There were actually three people there, and none of them looked even the least bit amused. He recognized the older guy in the front as the one his scout team confronted in this area before.

Finally gathering his bearings, Naruto started fiddling with one of the sleeves of his jacket as he cleared his throat. "Oh, uh... I was told to wait here in case people showed up." Naruto eyed the three of them warily. The older man he easily recognized from a couple weeks ago, the only real difference was the man's attire. The female to his left was just a little taller, and seemed only to be partially coherent, whereas the third member of the group seemed to be extremely wary and alert... he was crouched down and surveying the surroundings carefully.

"What do you mean you were told to wait here? Are you here with those other two again? I thought I told you, and Konoha, to stay away?"

The female standing next to the man grabbed his tunic and started tugging on it gently as he was talking. When he finished, she started talking to him before Naruto could say anything. It took a second for Naruto to realize that she was talking, he saw her lips moving, but had to strain to hear her voice since she was talking quietly. It was likely she was whispering, but with his enhanced hearing, Naruto managed to pick up the end of it.

"... here or not, look at the pool behind him... ...do it?"

The stocky man had been leaning back slightly as he listened to the female, but his eyes never left Naruto. The moment she released him and he leaned forward, the man tossed another question Naruto's way, without letting him answer the first one. "What did you do to Whirlpool, boy?"

Naruto opened his mouth to explain that he didn't do anything, but once again he was cut off before he could say anything.

"It wasn't him, Keiji. I did it."

The female in front of him stumbled as she turned around, and almost fell to the ground before the stocky man - named Keiji - caught her around the waist. The other male quickly turned and jumped backwards, away from everyone, and remained crouching as he landed. Somehow during his jump he managed to get two wicked looking knives with serrated edges in his grasp, and he was holding them at the ready.

Kushina had appeared several steps behind Keiji, Naruto was able to recognize both short swords in her grasp. She currently had both of them resting on her shoulders, one sword on each.

"K-Kushina! Is... is it really you?! We heard you were dead! None of us were ever able to track you down after the Kyuubi attack!"

Naruto watched from the corner of his eye as the man who had jumped back made both of his knives disappear, presumably under the sleeves of the dark shirt he was wearing. His pose also seemed a lot more relaxed than it was earlier. Moving his gaze back to the other two, he noticed the female was on the ground, rubbing her temples, as the man Keiji looked like he was having a hard time deciding if he wanted to move closer and confront Kushina or make sure the woman next to him was doing okay.

"Yes, Keiji, it's really me. I've been in hiding for a very, very long time." Kushina sighed as her eyes drifted to her son, then back. "Too long."

Keiji snorted. "I hope it was for a good reason. We would have rebuilt Whirlpool a lot sooner if you were still around. I always knew the elders were fools for keeping the Priest Branch so selective."

Kushina shook her head, sheathing the swords in the scabbards that were crisscrossed across her lower back. Her hair was now tied up in a bun on the back of her head to keep her hair out of the way. She kept talking as she looked at the pool, walking in Naruto's direction all the while. "The elders had their reasons, you know that as well as all the others. Our ancestors would not have made the decisions they did if they didn't have a good reason."

If Keiji had a reply, he didn't say anything. He was busy murmuring to the woman who was still sitting on the ground, rubbing her head. The other male had since moved back over towards the other two, Naruto noticed that the man had some medic skills as he saw a green glow around the man's hands as he placed them on the woman's temples.

Walking past Naruto, closer to the water, Kushina turned to start walking around the pool. She was using the front of her sandals to prod at the ground every few feet, as if looking for something.

"So who is the boy?"

Kushina stopped and looked at Keiji, as did Naruto. The other three had since finished fussing over the female of the group, and were all standing steadily. Keiji was staring expectantly at Kushina while the glances of the other two were bouncing back and forth between Naruto and his mother.

"That's Naruto. My son."

Keiji seemed to be rather taken aback, while the other two he was with appeared rather nonplussed.

"I... I never knew you had a child. I never knew you were even seeing anyone."

Kushina shook her head, the expression on her face showing one of sadness. "You ignored me the moment I went to stay in Konoha after Whirlpool was destroyed. I tried contacting you for the better part of a year before I gave up. You needed something to blame for the loss of your home, and Konoha was it. I guess because I went there, the blame extended to me."

Keiji didn't reply, but was looking rather morose. Seeing as how it didn't appear like the man was going to say anything else, Kushina asked another question. "How is Mei doing? Has your sister forgiven you yet?"

Instead of answering, Keiji's mood only seemed to drop further. His shoulders were slumped, and his head was down. The female next to him rested her hand gently on the man's shoulder, and answered for him in a gentle voice.

"Mother died two years ago. She wanted to speak to Keiji-sensei before she passed on from the disease that was killing her, but he couldn't make it in time. She passed on two days before sensei could arrive."

"You call him sensei? Not uncle?"

The female shook her head. "He said that he is not worthy of being my uncle, so to humor him I call him sensei. He has taught me many things, so it can apply." The woman looked like she was going to say something, then her eyes shot open and she covered her mouth briefly before talking again. "Oh, where are my manners. I'm Uzumaki Nayoko. Nice to meet you, Kushina and Naruto."

Kushina gave a small smile and nodded at the girl. "Uzumaki Kushina." Nayoko's eyes went wide once again, as did the other young man's.

"Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet ya!" Naruto held his hand out, with his thumb sticking up. This caused both his mother and Nayoko to giggle slightly. The young man appeared unfazed but had an eyebrow raised, while Keiji was looking a little better, and had a small grin forming.

"Nice to meet you officially, Naruto. I thought you looked slightly familiar before when I first saw you. You remind me of that man... the Yellow Flash."

Naruto simply nodded. "He was my father."

Keiji and his two companions blinked, looking back and forth between Kushina and Naruto. Finally Keiji managed to find his voice. "Wh-What? Really?"

It was Kushina's turn to nod and grin. "Yep. Took me a while, but I tamed him."

Naruto wasn't sure if he should laugh at a comment like that, so he settled for a small grin and scratched the back of his head. If anyone noticed him, they didn't say anything.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Sorry." Keiji turned to his side slightly, gesturing to the man standing next to him. "This here is Jun. He joined up with Nayoko and I about five years ago. We crossed paths in a tavern one day, and he observed me training Nayoko, then asked to join up with us. We've been together ever since. The man insists on calling me sensei, though I swear he is more skilled than I am."

The man named Jun didn't say anything, settling for giving both Naruto and Kushina small, quick nods. His dark obsidian eyes seemed to be evaluating the both of them, and Naruto could have sworn he saw eyes like his before.

"Now that we've all been introduced, I'm assuming you want to start Whirlpool again? I see you managed to complete the ceremony and get my father's old swords."

Kushina nodded, tapping the handle of one of the swords. "They're heavier than I thought they would be."

Keiji grunted. "Well, I guess so. You can use them because you're a priest, but they aren't attuned to you, like they were Anzai-sensei."

"Think you're skilled enough to re-forge them?"

Keiji laughed outright. "Of course! I haven't been letting my skills go to waste, in case this day ever came. Even though Nayoko is a scout, I've been training her some in craft should anything happen."

Kushina snickered lightly. "Good thing none of the elders survived, or they'd have wanted your head for teaching Craft Branch skills to a Scout Branch member." Keiji merely shrugged but did not respond.

Naruto was confused as could be and it must have shown on his face, because he heard his mother murmur to him that she would explain everything later, once they had started Whirlpool again. All Naruto could do was nod his head in acceptance, though he had no idea what she meant by starting Whirlpool, either.

In the meantime, Keiji was slowly walking around the pool, carefully looking at the ground. He reached a spot and stopped, crouching over. Placing his hand on the ground, he grunted slightly, then appeared to pull up a large granite pedestal from the ground. Naruto was too far away to notice any particular details about it, and as he moved to get a better view his mother placed her arm in front of him. When he looked at her in question, she merely shook her head.

"Wait here."

That said, she moved towards the pedestal, pulling one of the swords from it's sheath on her back. As Kushina approached it, she raised it up so that it was hovering above the surface of the pedestal. Hovering nearby for several seconds, she pushed the sword down into the top of the stand. Naruto wasn't close enough to be able to see if there was in fact an opening in the top, but noticing that his mother was using some effort to push down on the sword, he assumed there wasn't. Once she had pushed half of the blade into the pillar, she stepped behind it so that the pool was on the other side. Grasping the hilt, he watched again as she pulled downward, towards herself. Somehow the blade moved from within the pedestal, and his mother pulled the blade toward herself enough so that the tip of the sword was sticking out from the side. There was also a beam of something... if it was light, or visible chakra, Naruto wasn't sure... but it was stretching out from the bottom of the sword. His mother continued pulling the blade down until it looked like she couldn't move it any further, and it ended up so that the beam of... whatever it was... reflected off the very middle of the pool.

Apparently it reflected up from the pool into the very place where Keiji was waiting patiently, as he had just raised a pillar from the other side of the pool. Naruto watched as his mother jogged around to the other side, dislodging the second sword from it's sheath on her back. Keiji started talking to her as she approached, but they were too far away for him to hear any words. Looking around for the other two people who were still nearby, he was somewhat startled to notice that they had both moved up rather close to him, one on either side. Jun just nodded to him while Nayoko gave him a small smile. Nodding and smiling back, respectively, he turned his attention back to the two people across the lake and saw his mother put the finishing touches on adjusting the second sword.

The tips of both swords were pointing at the middle of the lake, one sword had emitted a yellow light, and Naruto had to assume the other sword must have put out a light that was blue in color, because the light bouncing off the center of the pool was now green. Naruto was pulled from his thoughts about the colors when he felt Jun's hand on one of his shoulders.

"Your mother is calling us. Let's go."

Turning to look, he originally looked towards where the second pillar was, but he didn't see her there. Looking further around the pool, he saw her standing on the far side, about an equal distance between both pillars, and she was waving them over.

Nodding, Naruto started moving in her direction, feeling Jun's hand fall off his shoulder. It took less time to reach her than he thought it would, the pool seemed bigger than it actually was.

"Alright you three. I really only need Nayoko for this next part, but because it will probably tire her out, I need you two nearby to catch her so she doesn't fall into the pool once it's started."

All three appeared confused, but Kushina continued with her explanation before anyone could ask.

"Let me make this brief, you can ask more questions later. There were, and technically still are, three Branches within the Uzumaki clan." Kushina took a moment and looked at Naruto. "I know you're probably thinking about the Hyuuga when I mention Branches. Yes, it was similar, but not quite as serious. A lot of clans have Branches or Houses within them, but many do not take it to the extreme that the Hyuuga do."

Once Naruto nodded in understanding, she shifted her focus back to the group. "Anyway, I was a member of the Priest Branch. There could only be one priest from each generation, and somehow at birth I was chosen to be the lucky one. The priest is chosen to be the leader of the village once they inherit the Whirlpool Blades... those two kodachi you saw on my back. The priest who holds the blades is leader of Whirlpool for twenty years maximum, then the blades are re-forged and the next Priest in line gets their turn to lead the village. I'm sure you may be wondering what would happen should the leader die before their time was up... don't fret, there was a process."

She glanced at Keiji for a second, and when he nodded, she turned back to the other three and continued. "There were two other Branches. The Scout Branch, and the Craft Branch. Keiji is a member of the Craft Branch. Mei, who was his sister, was a member of the Scout Branch. Once an Uzumaki reached the age of fifteen they were able to choose what Branch they wanted to join and choose their profession. The Scout Branch was technically our village military, and the Craft Branch was obviously our artisans."

Kushina focused on Nayoko. "Nayoko-san, your mother was a Scout, and therefore if you wish, you may follow in her footsteps and become a Scout as well." Kushina grinned, chuckling a little. "Well, actually you don't really have to, but we kind of need you to in order to perform the ritual."

Nayoko nodded, her lips set into a grim line. "I will do what is required of me to help my family."

Both Kushina and Keiji seemed slightly surprised by the response, but both were smiling. Naruto wasn't sure if what she chose was important or not, so he settled for just giving her a gentle smile. Stealing a glance at Jun, Naruto noticed he remained rather impassive. If he didn't look totally different, the teen would have mistaken the man as Sai.

Moving his attention back to Nayoko, he saw that his mother was currently using some paint from one of her pouches to draw symbols on the back of Nayoko's wrists, with a single line trailing up her arm, to her elbow. Once she was finished, she took a step back and formed the rooster hand sign.

"You need to make this sign, then when you feel the chakra entering your system, break the sign and touch the water with both hands. That will complete the technique. It will drain you greatly, but Jun and my son will be there to make sure you don't fall in."

Nayoko nodded, then moved over to the edge of the pool. Kushina gestured for her to get onto her knees, then form the sign, to which Nayoko immediately complied. Kushina backed up then started running around to the other side of the pool, Keiji hot on her heels.

Sharing a look with Jun, both males walked up to stand near Nayoko, one on either side of her. She looked to each side as they approached, giving them both small smiles, to which they both gave her a nod. Looking across the pool, Naruto saw his mother and Keiji talking about something, then both of them turned so they were back to back.

Both of them went through a long string of hand signs, stood still for a few seconds, then both bent over and slammed their hands to the ground. They both shouted something out, but Naruto couldn't hear it clearly. Naruto watched as a bright blue light traveled away from his mother around the pool towards the pillar she was facing. The same thing was happening for Keiji, only it was a yellow light. As the lights hit the pillar, they made the lights emitting from the tips of the swords glow even brighter, then the light continued traveling around the side of the pool, both of them heading for Nayoko.

Naruto heard as Nayoko inhaled sharply, then the lights collided as they formed a circle underneath where Nayoko was kneeling. Watching as the lines on her arms lit up, left side blue, right side yellow, light blue chakra started becoming visible around her hands. As soon as the girl's hands started shaking, she immediately leaned forward and plunged her hands into the pool.

Everyone watched as the light traced along the outside of the pool around the very edge, then curved lines started stretching from the outside, eventually meeting in the middle, where the light from the two swords on either side of the pool converged. The mirror-like surface of the pool started to shimmer, then slowly began to turn.

It started turning faster and faster, gradually picking up speed. Noticing Nayoko starting to lean further into the water in front of him, he grinned with amusement as Jun and himself seemed to come to an understanding and each of them grabbed one of the girls shoulders, gently pulling her backwards. They gently helped her lean back, then fall over onto her side next to the pool as she was breathing heavy and apparently only semi-conscious.

Turning back to the pool, Naruto was surprised to see that it didn't take much longer for it to start spinning completely... now there was a large maelstrom in the center of the pool, churning at a rapid speed. It also amazed him because it was spinning around without making a sound.

However, his amazement quickly turned to horror as he watched his mother take a running start then jump in headfirst.

* * *

The world stood still for what seemed like an eternity for Sakura. She should have known better than to look into the man's eyes while his sharingan was activated, but she couldn't help it.

Immediately she gasped, and looked down at the man's feet instead. "Ino! Yuna! Don't look into his eyes, no matter what!"

Sakura's teeth ground together when she didn't get a reply from either of the two girls. "Ino? Yuna?"

Risking a glance at her two friends, it didn't take long for her to realize they were both out of commission. Not that Yuna would have done anything, since the girl was a civilian, but as a kunoichi it was her job to protect civilians. Since Yuna was a close friend, that made her duty doubly important.

Ino's eyes were blank and unfocused. She was standing still but swaying very slightly from side to side. The sound of a body hitting the floor made her gaze quickly jump to Yuna... the girl was lying awkwardly on the floor, breathing steadily. For a moment she was thankful that at least Itachi had been merciful with the girl, but then when she remembered it was the same man who managed to sneak up on them, she quickly whirled back to face her opponent.

Sakura closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down and slow her breathing. It didn't look like there was going to be any way out of this fight, even though she didn't really know where Naruto went off to. But Itachi was a member of the dreaded Akatsuki, and even though he claimed he only wanted to talk to Naruto... Sakura found it hard to trust the word of an Uchiha.

Grabbing a kunai from her thigh pouch, she flung it towards the doorway without looking. He was standing there last, so he would at least have to move forward or backward to get out of the way.

Risking a quick glance toward the doorway, she immediately noted he was not inside the building. That could only mean he moved outside, much to her relief. Running up, she moved up against the wall nearby and glanced outside.

He was standing there. Waiting. She grit her teeth, realizing that he must be trying to goad her into action. Sakura was more than happy to oblige. If she wanted help from any of the other shinobi present, she would have to make some noise after all.

Making a hand seal and muttering to herself before charging chakra into her hand, she leapt outside.

"I don't know why you are attacking. I said I only need to know where Naruto-kun is. I have important information for him."

Sakura was seething. Did he really think she would betray Naruto's location, even if she did know?

"Not only are you an Akatsuki, but you're also an Uchiha! There's no reason I should trust anything that comes out of your mouth!" With a loud cry, she slammed her fist into the ground.

There were several seconds where nothing happened. Sakura was still bent over, her fist connected to the ground.

"I don't know what you're trying to accomplish. I've said I don't want to fight. Plus it seems that your jutsu failed." The hint of smugness in Itachi's voice caused Sakura's lips to twitch upward into a grin. She looked up directly in his face, with squinted eyes and a wicked sneer. She watched as one of his eyebrows rose somewhat, and let out a mirthless laugh.

"That's good. Just keep thinking to yourself that it didn't work." With another yell, Sakura pulled her fist up from the ground rapidly, and made an uppercut motion into thin air.

Barely a second later, the ground underneath Itachi's feet split wide open, and several sharp spikes of rock erupted from the ground and pierced Itachi clean through in multiple places on his body.

Sakura started breathing heavily as she watched Itachi cough up blood, then slowly look around as his predicament. "I am impressed... Sakura-san. But it seems that another way for me to gain the information I need has revealed itself. Sorry to cut our session short."

Sakura just looked at Itachi incredulously. "What?! Session? What the hell are you going on about?!"

Itachi merely smirked, then Sakura watched with her mouth agape as the man slowly dissolved into a flock of ravens.

"Itachi? Itachi! Where are you going?" He didn't reply as he continued to disappear. "Dammit Uchiha, answer me!"

Without warning, Sakura felt a cold pressure on her left shoulder. With a gasp she turned to look, but didn't see anything. Until she blinked.

Jiraiya magically appeared next to her, with his hand on her shoulder, giving her a wry smile. Eyes darting around, she noticed Ino on the ground nearby, helping Yuna who was holding her forehead and moaning about a headache.

"J-Jiraiya-sama! I was... I was just fighting Itachi! What's going on?"

Jiraiya's smile never stopped as he turned and looked towards the doorway... it then clicked in Sakura's mind that she was still indoors...

Which could only mean she was caught in a genjutsu as soon as she saw Itachi, and didn't even notice. So much for getting stronger. Her eyes came to rest on Itachi once again, who no longer had his sharingan activated and was displaying a tight-lipped smile.

Jiraiya may have been smiling, but his voice was as cold as steel. "What are you doing here, Itachi? This is unexpected."

He nodded to Jiraiya first, but then turned to Sakura and gave her a very slight bow, surprising the girl. "My apologies Sakura-san, I feared you would become combative and it appears I was correct. It was the best way to diffuse the situation, otherwise I feel Naruto-kun would be upset to find his outpost wrecked."

Sakura merely snorted. "Since when have you cared about Naruto?"

At this, Itachi's demeanor didn't seem to change, but Jiraiya let out an abrupt laugh, startling her.

"Sakura... Itachi has cared about Naruto longer than you've known the gaki even existed."

Sakura didn't know what to say, but her mouth being agape seemed to prod Jiraiya on.

"Besides, where do you think I get most of my information on Akatsuki from?"

* * *

Naruto stood rigid and unmoving. He had just witnessed his mother jump into the swirling vortex that he only knew as Whirlpool. The blond's memory kept jumping back to when Kushina told him that anyone who was to try to swim in the Whirlpool when it was active would likely drown. That meant there had to be a reason why she would jump in once it was activated.

Naruto was waging a silent war within himself, the panic he felt at losing his mother that he just found a few days ago was winning over the rationale of waiting to see what she was doing, because she jumped in entirely on her own.

As he made to take a step forward, a hand landed on his shoulder and grabbed it tightly. Whirling his head to see who would dare stop him, he saw Jun with a dour look on his face.

"Wait. Look."

Jun pointed with his free hand towards a figure that was jogging around the side of the pool in their direction. Eyes focusing on the jogger, Naruto quickly realized that it was Keiji. The man was looking up at them and giving the two a small wave as he approached.

The hand dropped from his shoulder as Naruto waited for the man to get closer. Even though he didn't know the man at all, part of him hoped that if his mother was doing something dangerous, Keiji would have stopped her.

As Keiji came up to them, he bent over momentarily and took a few deep breaths. "Definitely not... as young as I used to be." The man chuckled a little, more to himself than to anyone else. Naruto was too worried to laugh, and Naruto hadn't seen Jun smile once since they met.

"Naruto, I can tell by the look on your face that you are worried. But don't. Your mother is fine, this is just part of the activation process. She's communing with Whirlpool, right now... establishing herself as the leader of Whirlpool Village. Not that there is anything or anyone left to lead."

Naruto nodded slowly, and turned to look at the whirling maelstrom once again. There was still no noise coming from it, and even though it was swirling rapidly, the water still held a glass-like characteristic. It was still reflecting everything, nothing could be seen below the surface.

A flash of red caught his eyes as he looked into the middle of the whirlpool. Naruto watched in shock as his mother slowly rose up from the middle of the whirlpool, completely dry. Her arms were crossed under her chest as she appeared, and her eyes were closed. From the distance they were at, Naruto could barely make out her face, and it looked like she was frowning.

A quiet murmur to his left caused Naruto to turn and look, to see Nayoko shakily rising to her feet as the young woman stared at where Kushina was appearing.

"What... what is she doing?"

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know."

When it appeared as though Naruto wasn't going to elaborate any further, Jun decided to fill in. "Keiji-sensei said that she is communing with Whirlpool. We have yet to see the result of that."

Nayoko nodded and rubbed her forehead a little.

"Are you okay?"

Nayoko turned her head to look at Naruto, eyebrows raised in surprise. "What? Oh... yes, I'll be okay. I'm still fighting off the headache from earlier, and the ceremony that was just performed was extremely draining."

Naruto was going to suggest that she sit back down until she recovered, but at that moment Keiji spoke up again and interrupted whatever Naruto was going to say.

"I know you three are wondering what's going on. Kushina is just talking to Whirlpool, I don't know any way to explain it other than that. But I promise she's fine, and I'm sure she'll explain better once she's done."

Nayoko shouted out, surprising everyone present at the volume of her voice. "Talking to the pool!? How? Is it alive?"

Keiji merely shrugged, causing the other three to frown. "I don't know. Only the priests do, and they are sworn to secrecy." The man nodded his head toward Kushina, who was slowly walking on top of the vortex to where they were standing. "The only priest still alive that we know about is right there, too."

The small group stood silently as they watched Kushina approach. The woman's arms were still crossed under her chest, and she was still frowning. On top of that, she was walking towards them with her eyes closed.

The moment she stepped on solid ground, however, her arms dropped, her eyes opened, and she gave a tight lipped smile and nodded at Keiji. He nodded back, but neither one said anything. The next thing Naruto saw... or felt, rather... was the feeling of being wrapped in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry."

Confusion was all over Naruto's face, but it took him a second to realize that his mother currently couldn't see his face since hers was turned away as she hugged him.

"What for?"

Kushina pulled back slightly and looked at her son, she kept her hands gripping his forearms. "Whirlpool told me that you panicked when I jumped in." She chuckled a little, but it held no joy. "I've never really had a chance to be a mother, so I wasn't thinking like one. That's why I said I was sorry."

Naruto just gave her a small smile, and Kushina's relief was immediately noticeable. "It's fine. I'm not used to being a son either."

Kushina gave her son a tight lipped smile and a small nod, then she turned towards Keiji... who was looking very confused.

"Not used to being a mother, or a son? What's going on?"

Kushina just shook her head. "It's a very long story, I'll fill you in when we're done here. For now, though..." She trailed off with a sigh, looking back over the spinning vortex once again. There were several uncomfortable seconds of silence, until Naruto heard Keiji ask quietly, "How many?"

Kushina's voice was even quieter. "Fourteen."

Keiji immediately looked away and walked away from the rest of them, letting out a string of curses that would have made the most vile of sailors blush crimson. As he walked away and his voice disappeared, Naruto asked the question that he figured Nayoko and Jun wanted to know the answer to as well.

"Fourteen what?"

Kushina turned slowly and gave her son a sad smile. "Fourteen people with activated Uzumaki blood are still alive. As a member of the priest class, that is one of my abilities, to detect anyone with Uzumaki blood anywhere in the world."

Naruto nodded, slightly awed by that ability alone. "From the look on your face, I'm guessing that's a low number?"

His mother looked over towards Whirlpool again. "You could say that. Before the Third Shinobi War started, there were one-hundred and twenty seven. Or so I've been told. I wasn't of age to understand the implications of that when I found out." Her smile became a little bigger. "But, if you want, I can activate your blood right now and make you number fifteen."

Naruto's eyes went wide. "Really?"

Kushina nodded, but then frowned. "Yes, but I should warn you that it will hurt. You're supposed to have your blood activated when you're young and first learning to use chakra... the older you get after that, the more it will hurt. It never kills, but I remember stories about some people going into a coma from shock."

Naruto was looking a bit queasy. "How old were the ones who went into shock?"

Kushina tapped a finger against her chin for a moment. "If I remember correctly, the youngest was in his late twenties. So you should be fine. But I'll leave it up to you."

Naruto let out a sigh and thought about it some. He was swiftly approaching sixteen, so he wasn't even in his twenties. There might be pain, but it couldn't be worse than anything he had already experienced. Having a Chidori rammed through your chest hurt a lot, as did going into a four-tailed state. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he took a deep breath and looked up.

"I'll do it."

Kushina smiled, and Naruto chuckled slightly as he heard Nayoko let out something akin to a small cheer and clap. He followed his mother as she beckoned him over to the side of Whirlpool.

"Come over here and kneel down. You're going to put your hand into the water as you scoop some up with your other hand and drink it."

"That's it?"

Kushina nodded. "You already have some of Whirlpool connected to you, which is why the water was applied to you when you were born. It also explains the weird pulling sensation you told me you felt before, because you were connected, just not completely."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding, then unconsciously rubbed over his heart where his mother told him earlier the water had been applied. "So is that all I do? If there is pain, how long will it last?"

Kushina's lips and eyebrows scrunched up as she accessed her memory. "Other than the people who went into a coma, I don't think I ever saw anyone in pain for more than a couple minutes. But I will warn you that some suffered from seizures." Kushina sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I'm really wishing now that I had paid more attention when I was younger."

Naruto just chuckled, garnering a small grin from his mother. "Well, I guess we'll find out shortly if anything happens to me. How long do I need to keep my hand in the water?"

"Until you see a thin strand of visible chakra connecting your chest to the pool."

Naruto's eyes went wide in shock once again. "Whoa, really?"

The redhead nodded and smiled. "It's what connects you to Whirlpool, and therefore connects me to you. It will let me find you anywhere you go in the world, so I'm never going to lose you again. Believe it."

Naruto blinked and grinned, hearing his old catchphrase tossed back at him - from his mother, no less. "Alright. Here goes nothing."

Kneeling down on the ground, he slowly dipped his left hand into the liquid. It did feel like water, but it tingled slightly, like there was constant static electricity causing the fine hairs on the back of his hands and fingers to stand up. Using his right hand, he scooped some liquid from the pool. He paused to take a look at it as the 'water' dripped from his hand... it was unnatural. It was falling through his fingers and looked more like sand than water.

Without thinking further, he quickly brought it to his mouth and drank it down before it all fell through his fingers. It didn't really taste good, but then it didn't taste bad either. If he had to describe it... he'd have to say that it had no taste at all, really. Wiggling his fingers around in the pool some, Naruto remained on his knees and waited for something to happen while his mother looked on anxiously. He assumed Nayoko and Jun were somewhere nearby, and that random thought was confirmed as he saw his mother wave someone over from the corner of his eye.

"Jun, would you mind standing behind him in case something happens and he needs to be restrained? Please?"

Naruto didn't hear the quiet man say anything, but assumed that Jun nodded his head, since his mother just replied with a simple thanks.

After thirty seconds, Naruto started humming to himself.

Another two minutes later, and Naruto had to admit he was getting bored. Not to mention his arm was getting stiff from the way he was holding it.

"I don't think anything is happening."

Kushina looked at him inquisitively. "Really? My chakra doesn't seem brighter to you... or can you detect anyone from the outpost? I have my detection ability pushed to the max, and I can detect a group of people, but not how many."

Naruto squinted as he concentrated, trying to sense anything beyond what he could normally without expending chakra. After several intense seconds, he shook his head and sighed. "Nothing."

Kushina bit her bottom lip and looked at the pool of water. "Well... give me a moment. I'll try to commune with Whirlpool again to see what's going on."

Just as Kushina took a step over to the pool, Naruto felt a slight twinge in his stomach. "W-wait... I just felt something..."

His mother immediately stopped and turned to look at him. She didn't say anything, looking like she was waiting for him to continue.

"I... I thought my senses would just suddenly expand... but my stomach feels warm, and my skin is starting to itch."

Kushina looked slightly perturbed. "I don't recall hearing about that happening before." Suddenly her eyes went wide. "But then... the Kyuubi?!"

Naruto was about to ask if that was a problem, but suddenly his body felt like it was catching fire. It spread from the seal on his stomach and slowly worked its way along the rest of his body. As the hot sensation passed along his body his muscles started to clench up and twitch. Anything he was going to say was suddenly cut short as his jaw clenched tightly and his eyes started blinking rapidly. At this point Naruto was only half coherent, if that. He thought he felt someone holding him steady, if not more than one person. He was also vaguely aware of someone shouting nearby - exactly who's voice it was or what they were saying completely eluded his comprehension.

As the pain started to subside, he noticed there were some things in his vision that were getting brighter, even after his eyes closed completely and he gradually succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

Naruto slowly awoke, listening to his surroundings before he opened his eyes. He could feel presences around him, one was particularly close... immediately next to him. There were two others also nearby, but maintained a small distance, and a fourth presence that was slowly moving back and forth a couple meters away.

He heard something akin to a sniffle next to him, then felt a hand brush through his hair. It felt soothing, and caused a small grin to twitch onto his mouth.

There was a gasp. "He... he just grinned! I'm sure I saw his mouth twitch a little!"

Startled, Naruto decided to open his eyes, only to see his mothers face hovering over him. His first thought was that she was beautiful... immediately followed by curiosity since her eyes were red and bloodshot. Then he realized she seemed to be rather... bright... and immediately closed his eyes once more while groaning.

"Naruto! You're okay! Thank kami!"

The blond simply grunted in response, then slowly moved his aching arms up and rubbed his eyes. "Mmh... yeah. M'kay." His mouth was dry and his throat felt hoarse, like he had been screaming or yelling.

He heard a relieved sigh next to him. "That's a relief. It means your blood trait is active now. Give it a few moments to settle down."

"'Kay."

He would have said more to do something to reassure his mother that he was okay, but his throat hurt too much. He didn't need to say anything though, as Kushina prodded him no more than a second after he thought about it.

"Open your mouth a little, hon. I have some water."

Naruto cracked his mouth open, and was surprised to feel something cool rub against his bottom lip. The water slowly filled up his mouth until Kushina's hand rested on his chin and slowly pushed his mouth closed. After he swallowed, they repeated the same thing twice more until Naruto was able to talk somewhat normally again.

"What happened?"

Naruto turned his head towards where his mother was, even if he didn't have his eyes open yet.

"You went into some sort of fit. We were all worried, even Keiji came running over. At first your entire body shuddered and you jumped away from the pool. Then you started screaming and thrashing about." Even though she sounded strained, she let out a chuckle. "I'm proud of how strong you are though, it took all four of us to hold you down and keep you from hurting yourself."

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, I do a lot of training, so I'm not surprised."

There was another chuckle from his mother, and he decided to try opening his eyes again. Cracking one of them opened, he squinted... to see that everything about his mother appeared normal once again. She was no longer glowing.

"Do I look normal again?"

Naruto nodded, and slowly opened his eyes all the way. "I guess my senses have gotten adjusted. What was that, exactly?"

Kushina looked at him for a moment, then over to the pool, then back at her son. "Whirlpool gives those of Uzumaki blood the ability to sense large chakra sources at a large range, as I already told you. Another one of it's abilities is for you to be able to spot those with activated Uzumaki blood from even further away. A side affect of this ability is that others with activated blood will appear to be glowing."

"Oh."

Kushina laughed. "I agree. It's a small price to pay for being able to detect anyone from your clan at a huge distance. Not only that, but I told you as a member of the priest class, I can tell where someone with Uzumaki blood is - anywhere in the world. Not only that, I can contact them too."

Naruto's eyebrows skyrocketed that. "No wonder Fire Country wanted to be friends with Whirlpool."

His mother nodded. "We were very popular scouts. We worked for anyone that was willing to pay in times of peace, but if Fire Country was ever at war, we were an ally and forced to act as such. Though that also made us a target."

The mood instantly became somber, and Naruto wasn't entirely sure what to say. It all happened before he was born, but he could almost feel a physical pain from what his mother was saying.

"Anyway... test out your abilities. Try to sense the outpost."

Naruto nodded, and closed his eyes in concentration. Stretching out his senses like he always did, he inhaled sharply as they sharpened to an incredible amount. The three Uzumaki in his immediate vicinity were blindingly bright at first, but he eventually managed to block some of that and look beyond. He sensed Jun rather quickly after that, then began expanding his senses further.

He listened as his mother casually explained how to make use of his new enhanced senses, but from what she was saying, they could only feel large concentrations of chakra at great distances. So if it was more than one person in an area, it would likely just feel like a large mass of chakra. She mentioned that she had enough experience to be able to further identify people at longer range than most other Uzumaki could - even when she was younger. As Naruto tested his new ability and listened to his mother explain things about it, he began to frown.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head slightly, eyes still closed. "Nothing... I think."

Kushina snorted. "Something is either wrong or it isn't. Take a pick."

Naruto hesitated for a second. "Well... I managed to sense the people at the outpost."

"So, what's wrong with that? I'm impressed you've managed to grasp how to manipulate the sense so well already."

"You said I should only be able to sense a large mass of chakra, right?"

Kushina didn't reply for a moment. "Well... for a novice, that is about the best I'd expect. Why?"

Naruto opened his eyes and looked directly at his mother. "I can sense each individual person. They are completely separate."

Kushina stared at him, totally slack-jawed. "You're kidding?"

When Naruto shook his head to the negative, Kushina literally squealed in glee. "That is excellent! My own son has a better chakra sense than I do! I'm so proud!"

She probably would have continued, but Naruto held up a hand that caused her to stop and look at him, obviously puzzled why he wasn't soaking up her praise.

"There is a problem."

Kushina's happy demeanor instantly became serious. "What?"

"All of the chakra sources at the outpost seem to be surrounding two other sources that are fairly close to each other."

"A fight?"

Naruto nodded. "It seems likely. We should go."

As they both stood up, Kushina waved the others over and explained the situation to them. Once they all nodded to her, she looked at Naruto and grinned at him.

"Ready when you are."

* * *

**Edited:** March 21st, 2010

**Up next:** Slipstream


	18. Slipstream

Chapter 18

Naruto felt that they had made good time back to the outpost, even though they had to move a little slower since Nayoko was still suffering from a headache. He had recovered quickly enough, both Naruto and his mother quietly agreed that it was most likely due to the Kyuubi's influence. Kushina appeared to have some questions as to why Naruto was able to so accurately detect chakra signatures from such a great distance, but it was just another thing that Naruto chalked up to being an extra boon of sorts from the bijuu sealed within him. He had suffered enough from being ignored and isolated as a child, it was about time the Kyuubi was making it up to him.

As they approached the outpost, he stopped a few hundred meters away, everyone coming up behind him.

"What's wrong?"

Naruto turned to his mother and shook his head. "Nothing yet. I want to go and investigate first. Just in case there is a problem, I don't want to put any of you in danger."

Even though he wasn't looking in their direction, Naruto was able to see both Keiji and Jun nod their heads in his peripheral vision. On the other hand, his mother wasn't looking too happy.

"What do you mean, put me in danger? I can't speak for the others, but I can take care of myself!" Even though she was still talking at a normal volume, the ferocity in her expression alone did an adequate job of expressing her dissonance.

Naruto wanted to sigh, but immediately caught himself, believing it might just anger her further. He raised his hands up in a placating gesture. "Mom... look, I'm just going to ask you to please wait here until I make sure it's okay. You're staying at the outpost, so you're my responsibility. I'm the person in charge there." His voice dipped a little lower. "Plus, I just found you. If anything were to happen..." He let his voice trail off, but his eyes continued to plead for her to accept.

Kushina still didn't look happy, but her gaze softened several degrees. "Since you put it that way, fine. You have ten minutes before I follow behind you. Not a minute more."

Knowing that was all he would likely get, he nodded. "Ten minutes. That's fine. I'll see you soon."

His mother nodded at him. Giving the others a small nod, he immediately shot off towards the outpost.

* * *

Sakura rubbed her temples, trying to comprehend all the information that just finished assaulting her brain. Jiraiya and Itachi had moved off, talking to each other in hushed tones. It wasn't that they didn't want her to follow, but she had heard enough to the point where it would take her a decent amount of time just to completely understand some of the things that had been conveyed to her.

"Sakura-chan."

Sakura let out a shriek, then immediately slapped her hands over her mouth and whirled around to face the person who spoke to her, only to come face to face with the captain of the outpost. Her boyfriend.

The first thing to hit her was embarrassment, from yelling out like she did. Immediately after that, she had to push down the urge to wallop Naruto over the head for startling her. It was almost involuntary, but the more logical side of her won out this time. It wasn't his fault she was startled, she was so absorbed in what Itachi and Jiraiya told her that she...

Then Sakura noticed Naruto had spoken her name, but he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were currently looking over her shoulder and slightly to the side, directly where Itachi and Jiraiya were standing. She didn't bother looking in their direction, after she erupted with that scream they were undoubtedly looking her way.

"Jiraiya-jisan is waving me over. Is it safe?"

Sakura nodded, and with a quick smile at her, he quickly walked over to where the other two men were standing.

It wasn't until she entered the medical building once more that she realized Naruto didn't refer to Jiraiya as 'Ero-sennin'.

* * *

"Hey gaki."

Naruto merely nodded to Jiraiya as he approached and his godfather greeted him. His gaze quickly focused on the nukenin from Konoha.

"Why are you here?" Naruto wasn't sure what was more surprising, that Itachi was actually here, or that Jiraiya was standing as close as he was to the Uchiha. The last time they met up, both Itachi and Kisame had run off. Though he appeared uncomfortable then, there was no sign of that discomfort in Itachi's body language now.

The raven haired man didn't smile, but kept his typically dispassionate face directed at the jinchuuriki. "I was informed that you are now a major part of Jiraiya-sama's spy organization. His point man, to be precise."

Naruto just blinked, then looked to Jiraiya. The Sannin gave his apprentice a nod and a small smile. Naruto looked at Itachi once again.

"Yes, I am. I don't understand why someone from Akatsuki - not to mention the one who has been tasked with capturing me and what I contain - is here and talking to Ero-sennin."

Jiraiya frowned, and appeared to want to protest what Naruto called him, but Itachi started answering before the older man could say anything.

"I had some important information that I was going to relay to you since I knew where you were. I was not aware of Jiraiya-sama being here as well, but I just finished informing him."

Confusion was clearly written all over Naruto's face. Jiraiya sighed, then gestured at Itachi.

"Naruto, did you notice anything different about Itachi, compared to all the other times you've seen him?"

Naruto squinted and looked Itachi up and down, and it only took a few seconds before something clicked. "No cloak. He's not wearing the Akatsuki cloak."

Both of the other men nodded, Jiraiya even smiled a little. "Very good. Though I think it's a good thing I was here, you probably would have attacked him anyway."

Naruto scoffed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but the sarcasm in his voice was easily identifiable. "What gave you that idea? He's attacked me twice, and from what I've heard would have a third time if I had still been in Konoha after the Chuunin exams years ago."

Jiraiya shook his head. "That was what Itachi told everyone he encountered, but that wasn't his main purpose for being there."

The blond looked surprised, yet skeptical. "I find that hard to believe."

Jiraiya started to say something, but Itachi spoke over him. "I'll explain later, since I'll be around for a little while."

Naruto was shocked, and the white haired Sannin didn't seem to fare much better. "But... your partner? Won't Kisame be looking for you?"

Itachi held up his hand with a ring on it. "I can feel where he is, vaguely. He told me he has some... obligations... to take care of and asked me if I could continue looking for you on my own." Itachi held up his hand with the ring from Akatsuki on it. "One of the abilities of this ring is that it allows me to feel when other members with the ring are nearby. The closer they get, the stronger their presence feels."

"Won't that let them know you're here?"

Itachi shook his head and focused on Naruto. "They can only tell exactly where I am if they are nearby. Otherwise they can only get an approximate location. But I can feel them approaching as well, so I can be long gone before anyone gets close."

"Well that will come in handy." Itachi merely nodded at Jiraiya's comment, his expression still unchanging. They stood in silence for a few seconds longer until Naruto remembered something.

"Does Itachi know about my mother?"

"You mean that she's here?"

Naruto swore he saw one of Itachi's eyebrows raise, but he couldn't be certain. Jiraiya merely shook his head. "I haven't mentioned it yet."

Facing the Uchiha completely, Naruto looked at the man with an expression that told the Uchiha he was nothing if completely serious. It was something Itachi couldn't say he had ever seen before.

"My mother is alive, and here. Do not tell her about Akatsuki."

"Not that I would have any cause to mention it, but why?"

Naruto growled a little. "Because she doesn't know, and she's suffered enough! I'm going to tell her about it when we go back to Konoha, so in case something happens baa-chan will be there."

This time surprise did show on the young mans normally expressionless face. "Are you certain she is who she says she is?"

Naruto glowered at the man standing across from him, but Jiraiya spoke up quickly to diffuse and potential issues. "It is definitely Kushina. I can vouch for her, she knows things that only the real Kushina would ever know. Not only that, but she has been with Rin all this time."

If he was surprised at hearing Rin was still alive as well, Itachi didn't show it. "Well then, I suppose some form of congratulations are in order, Naruto-kun."

The blond merely crossed his arms and looked away, grumbling. Almost immediately after he did so, Kushina landed gently next to him. Naruto jumped a little in surprise as she placed her hand on his forearm. "It's been ten minutes." Looking at the other two men standing near Naruto, it didn't take long for her to focus on Itachi.

"Long time no see, Itachi-san."

Itachi nodded slowly, eyes unblinking. "That it has, Kushina-san."

Naruto was standing completely rigid, while Jiraiya had a pensive look on his face. Itachi and Kushina were staring at each other for what felt like an eternity before Kushina suddenly let out a sigh and rubbed at her forehead.

"I don't know if I want to hug you or kill you."

Naruto began to stare at his mother in confusion, while Jiraiya merely chuckled. Itachi appeared to be in the same situation Naruto was, but was doing much better at hiding it.

"Whaaaat? Why would you want to hug him?! He's a missing nin!" Naruto was waving his arms about to further emphasize his statement.

Kushina merely looked at her son with a raised eyebrow and cracked a small grin. "Well, he did kill the man that took you away from me."

Naruto's face scrunched up in thought for several moments, before he nodded. But he still looked confused. "So why do you want to kill him too?"

This time Kushina frowned. "He killed my best friend too."

"My mother was not supposed to die."

Everyone turned to look at Itachi as he spoke, not quite believing what they were hearing. It was Kushina who broke the silence. "She wasn't supposed to? I don't understand."

Itachi surprised them all by sighing and looking away for several moments as he brought up what were apparently rather uncomfortable memories. "I was so focused on fighting my father that I didn't notice my mother watching us. I was already tired from fighting a few other targets, otherwise I would have been able to stop my sword in time."

Silence reigned for another minute as Itachi, a person who Naruto always viewed as a stone-cold killer, apparently had to work up the nerve to continue. "My mother took the blow that was intended to end my fathers life. It didn't kill her, but she was gravely injured. I didn't kill my father... my mother killed him."

Kushina gasped and clung tightly to Naruto's arm, while the boy stood there, mouth agape. Jiraiya's eyes were wide, but other than that the tall man showed no signs of being surprised.

"She died before I could do anything to help, but her last words to me were to tell Sasuke and Naruto that she was sorry."

"Me?" Naruto was completely stunned. "Why me?" He looked to his mother, who was looking at the ground.

Kushina spoke softly. "Something must have happened. Mikoto was supposed to take care of you if anything happened to me, Naruto."

Naruto looked at his mother, still completely surprised, and didn't notice Itachi nod. "The council didn't want Naruto to be raised by a clan. My mother was constantly berating herself for what she felt were her failures. Her inability to keep her promise to her best friend was tearing her apart. I did what I could by watching Naruto when I was in ANBU."

Naruto's head snapped back to Itachi once again. All these revelations were starting to weigh heavily on his mind. But there was one thing that was nagging him...

"I don't understand... why did you end up attacking and killing all the Uchiha? Why did you become a missing nin anyway?"

Itachi looked at Jiraiya, and the white haired Sannin closed his eyes and shook his head. "He can't tell you gaki, and I'm not at liberty to tell you why." He held up a hand, interrupting any outbursts that he knew the blond was almost certain to have. "You know how big the secret is in regards to you containing the Kyuubi, and how severe the punishment is for anyone who reveals it. This is the same, if not bigger. The only person who could tell you would be Tsunade, so you can ask her when you go report in."

Naruto looked like he wanted to argue anyway, but begrudgingly accepted what his sensei had told him. Sighing inwardly, he looked at his mother as he heard Jiraiya ask Itachi a question about what he assumed was a town nearby. Kushina was looking at the ground, rubbing her hands together and absentmindedly kicking at a small, loose rock on the ground in front of her. Looking at the rock, for some reason it reminded him of those pillars of rock near the whirlpool, which in turn made him wonder about the other Uzumakis and Jun.

"Mom?"

Kushina immediately snapped out of her daze and looked towards her son. "Yes, honey?"

The endearment immediately brought a blush to his face, but he tried to ignore it as he remembered his question. "What happened to the other three? They aren't here."

The redhead nodded quickly. "Nayoko was still suffering from a mild headache, so I dropped her off at the medical building."

"Oh, I see. Was Sakura-chan there?"

Kushina nodded again. "Yes, she said she'd look after Nayoko right away."

Naruto visibly relaxed. "That's good."

His mother looked at him curiously for a second, then smiled. "You were that worried about Nayoko?"

Naruto looked at Kushina for a moment, then scratched his cheek and averted his eyes. "Well, yeah. She's an Uzumaki, of course I'd be worried."

Kushina placed a hand over her mouth and giggled. "Well, yes, she and Keiji are your cousins. You do realize, however, that not everyone with the Uzumaki name has Uzumaki blood. Some people may have married into the clan and carried on the name."

Naruto merely shrugged. "They have the name, that's good enough for me." He paused for a second. "Hey... you said they are my cousins. How exactly are we related?"

Kushina looked off towards the medical building. "My father and Keiji's father were brothers. I was an only child, but my uncle had two children, Keiji and Mei. Apparently Mei passed on, but Nayoko is her daughter."

The blond hummed and nodded, accepting the answer. His thoughts drifted towards the other people his mother had remarked were alive with Uzumaki blood in their veins, but before he could think too deeply into it, his thoughts were scattered by the voice of his sensei.

"Kushina, Naruto."

They both turned to face Jiraiya, who had an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face. "From what Itachi tells me, I'm going to have to go do some investigating. I'll need to stop by Konoha and talk to Tsunade beforehand though. So if you don't mind moving forward your trip a few days, the sooner we can get there, the better."

The two of them nodded, obviously curious as to why, but letting the man continue.

"That's good." Jiraiya focused on his student next. "Naruto, Itachi is going to fill you in on some information that I told him you need to know as well. He's also going to spar with you, to gauge your strength and perhaps give you some pointers on things I might have missed, as well as tell you how to counter some opponents you may face in the coming days."

It wasn't hard for Naruto to figure out what Jiraiya meant by saying opponents instead of 'Akatsuki', and silently thanked his sensei. Looking at Itachi, the raven haired boy who reminded him quite a lot of Sasuke gave him a small nod. He squinted at the Uchiha, wondering if the man had some kind of ulterior motive. Jiraiya seemed to trust him, and so far he had done like he was asked and hadn't said anything to Kushina about Akatsuki. Naruto decided, albeit somewhat reluctantly, to give the man a chance.

Before he could say anything, however, his mother decided to share her own plans. "Good, while you two are sparring, I'm going to head back to Whirlpool and see if I can make contact with a few people that I was able to sense."

Jiraiya looked stunned. "You mean, there's more Uzumaki still alive?!"

Kushina gave the man a grim smile. "It seems that way, but that's what I'm going to try and confirm." She looked at the Uchiha. "Itachi-kun, if you harm one hair on my son's head... I will come for you. It won't be pretty."

If the Uchiha feared Naruto's mother at all, he didn't show it. He simply inclined his head in her direction.

"I understand."

Kushina gave him a sickeningly sweet smile. "Good!" She turned away from them and waved over her shoulder as she wandered off towards the medical building.

"Ready, gaki?"

Naruto turned back to his sensei and nodded quickly. "You bet!" He slowly raised his arm and pointed at Itachi. "Just wait until you see what I'm capable of!"

Itachi surprised the both of them by doing something they had never seen before. He smiled.

Naruto had seen Itachi grin a little before, just before he smashed a doppelganger with an Oodama Rasengan. But never a genuine smile.

Jiraiya shivered. "I have a feeling this is something I'm definitely going to want to watch."

Then Itachi did something else that surprised both of them. He chuckled.

"No offense Jiraiya-sama," the Uchiha turned his head slightly, and Jiraiya saw the sharingan come to life, "But you probably won't see anything."

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was walking down a long hallway contemplating his position within Orochimaru's forces as he thought he heard something. Stopping all movement and holding his breath, he listened carefully in case the sound repeated itself.

"Can't..."

Immediately activating his sharingan and resting a hand on his sword - just in case - he crouched slightly and quietly moved in the direction he thought he heard the word come from. It was too soft to determine if it was spoken by a male or female, though it did sound like there was more than one word spoken. The only word he heard clearly was the first one.

Still moving slowly back the way he originally came, Sasuke knew he was getting closer as he heard the voice speak up again. Only this time, he heard the whole thing. Not only that, but he recognized the voice.

"Stupid... stupid... why won't you turn off?"

The voice was definitely female, and she was breathing heavily, though it still wasn't clear enough for him to be able to recognize it belonging to anyone he was familiar with. Relaxing his stance a bit, Sasuke quietly opened the door to one of the rooms he just recently passed a second ago and slowly stepped inside, quickly recognizing the source. The female hadn't noticed his entrance, as she currently had her head down while her fingers were pressed against her temples, massaging them.

"Is your ability going haywire again?"

Karin looked up suddenly, open surprise on her face. "Sasuk-" If she was going to continue, she stopped and clutched at her temples once again, a frown settling on her features. It was several seconds before she spoke up again. "Yes."

Sasuke merely looked at her dispassionately. "Do you want me to knock you out again?"

Karin didn't respond immediately, but eventually shook her head negatively. "I need to figure out what this is. I can't have you knocking me out every time it happens."

The younger Uchiha didn't acknowledge her as he turned on his heel and prepared to leave the room. However, a soft gasp stopped him in his tracks. Looking over his shoulder at the girl once again, he noticed that her eyes seemed to be vacant. She was looking straight ahead, but didn't appear to be focusing on anything.

"Karin?"

The girl didn't move, or even acknowledge his voice. Sasuke turned around once again and cautiously moved forward, unsure of what was going on. "Karin? Can you hear me?"

She remained immobile, so Sasuke activated his sharingan once again and stepped forward to see if a genjutsu or some other technique was placed on her and he failed to notice it before. There was something that barely flickered on her chest right about where her heart would be, but it disappeared just as Sasuke focused his attention there. The moment he moved his glance to her chest, she must have woken up, because she inhaled sharply and shook her head. She looked at him and blushed slightly before speaking.

"Ugh... well, that explains some things."

Sasuke's gaze moved up to her face, his sharingan still activated. He didn't say anything, but she knew him well enough to understand that he wouldn't still be here if he wasn't at all curious.

"I know where my ability comes from, I know where to go to find out more about it..." she hesitated slightly before speaking the last bit, "... and apparently, I have some family that is still alive."

Karin knew better than to expect any large reaction from the boy, he did nothing but raise an eyebrow.

"We already know what my ability does, but a woman spoke to me in my head. She said that those of us with active blood should be able to feel the pull by now, and that it would be a good time to gather what is left of the clan. Some of them have already gathered."

Sasuke looked toward the door before speaking. "Get ready to leave. We're going to go investigate."

Karin couldn't hide her surprise. "What? But Orochim-"

A growl from Sasuke cut off whatever she was going to say. "What Orochimaru wants doesn't matter. If this woman can help make your ability work better, it may help me locate my brother faster. Nothing will stop me from finding him."

Karin merely nodded, then stood as she prepared to pack her things.

"Does this clan of yours have a name?"

Karin paused mid-step, craning her head to look at the other teen. "Yeah. Uzumaki."

She couldn't tell for sure, but the way Sasuke's jaw clenched and his sharingan started spinning wildly, she was certain the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. She didn't know when he did it, but he suddenly moved faster than she could blink and was roughly shoved up against the nearest wall, his hands at her neck. "Are you absolutely certain it's Uzumaki?"

Karin tried to nod, but it was hard with his hand around her neck. He wasn't squeezing, but she definitely had no desire to move as she doubted it would take much effort for him to snap her neck. Part of her was scared for her safety, but another part was heating up. He had never touched her before. The blush must have been showing on her face, because his eyes opened wide for a second before he quickly released her and stepped back.

"Be ready to leave in fifteen minutes. The sooner we leave, the better."

That said, Sasuke turned away from her once again as she rubbed at her neck. She could still feel his hand there...

"Sasuke-kun."

He stopped in the doorway, head turned to the side slightly to show he was listening.

Karin's voice dropped into what she felt was a rather husky tone. "I saw you staring at my chest when I left the trance I was in. Did you like what you saw?"

Sasuke stood there for several seconds, leaving Karin to wonder if he would turn around and slam her against the wall again. Deep down, part of her wished he would...

"Hn."

When he disappeared from the doorway, Karin felt the corner of her lip twitch upward into a small smile, and she let out a small giggle. It was the first time she ever got him to say anything when she talked like that. Even if it was only a grunt.

* * *

"Are you prepared, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto rolled his shoulders, then stretched his arms out, trying to remove any kinks. Itachi had been firm in his statement that Naruto would not have an easy time this fight. He still didn't fully trust the man, and was therefore wary about showing what he was fully capable of in combat. He'd give the Uchiha a taste, certainly, but didn't want to show him everything. Jiraiya always said it was a good idea to keep a few aces up your sleeve for a rainy day anyway.

"Ah, one question first. Should I be prepared to use everything in my arsenal?"

Itachi looked at him for a moment, then slowly shrugged. "Use what you feel is appropriate. As I said before, I won't be going easy on you. If you can't handle me, then you definitely won't be able to handle our leader... or the person who controls him."

Naruto just blinked. "W-What?! There's someone who-"

Itachi held up a hand and Naruto's mouth slammed shut and fell into a ready stance. Naruto had been thrown into a genjutsu with just a finger before...

The Uchiha merely gave Naruto a small grin. "I'm not attacking yet, because you haven't told me you are ready. This is a spar, after all. I just want you to wait to ask your questions until the end, once we return to your outpost."

Frowning, the blond grumbled and grabbed a scroll from inside his jounin vest. "Fine. Give me a second to get these out."

Itachi watched with disinterest as Naruto opened the scroll. One of his eyebrows did twitch upwards, however, when Naruto released the holding seal and the weapons he had stored in there were released. Naruto grabbed two items that looked like bracers and sealed them back into the scroll, but grabbed the two bladed items and held them in his hands. "I think I should keep these available in case you decide to use your kodachi."

"I've never seen anything like that before. Where did you get them?" To Itachi, they reminded him of the weapons the Military Police in Konoha used, mainly those who did not have access to the sharingan and could not subdue aggressors with genjutsu. They were aptly named 'nightsticks', because most transgressions of the physical sort took place during the nighttime hours. They were merely sturdy, reinforced batons with a handle sticking out from one of the sides. Naruto's weapon was definitely similar, the only difference was that instead of a handle being attached to a blunt rod, there was a handle attached perpendicular to a blade. As Naruto held it up, it was being held exactly the way one would hold a nightstick. The main blade was the length of Naruto's forearm, and ended just beyond his elbow. The top of the blade extended several inches above where Naruto's gloved fist was holding onto the handle. The blade was straight for the entire length, only having a very slight curve at the ends. He had two of these weapons, so the teen was obviously able to use one in each hand should the situation warrant.

"I originally saw them in a small village nearby to the south of here when I was traveling with ero-sennin. I met a blacksmith who has a part time hobby of creating rather exotic weapons, only a few of which could really be used in combat. When we first got here, I ordered these from him, and he had them ready for me the next day. I've been practicing with them in secret ever since."

"In secret? I'm sure Uzuki-san would be more than happy to practice with you."

Naruto nodded, smiling as he rotated the sword in his hand. Itachi was surprised that Naruto was able to twirl it so effortlessly, considering the boy was wearing gloves. "She would, I know. But I need to practice on my own first, because I want to know how to hold them before I start learning any techniques or styles with them. I've gotten some tips from Rin, though..."

Naruto didn't say anything further, but squinted as he looked at one of the blades in his grip. Walking up to a nearby sapling, he took a swipe at it from over a meter away. The sword missed cleanly.

Both of Itachi's eyebrows raised this time as the sapling fell over, having been sliced clean through. "I see... chakra extension. So you have a wind affinity, then?"

Naruto nodded, smirking. "Asuma-sensei used trench knives which were chakra attuned, and he could extend the blade with wind-fused elemental chakra by about two or three inches. With a blade of this length, I can go just over a meter in both directions."

Nodding, Itachi clenched his hands into fists, and slowly settled down into a ready position. "An interesting choice of weapon. It will be quite the test when we spar with Kenjutsu. Understand... I will not hold back, and will beat you to within an inch of your life if you are lax. Prepare yourself."

The unique weapons found their ways to Naruto's belt, glowed for a second, then promptly disappeared in a small cloud of smoke. Itachi smirked. "You've been practicing with sealing, I see. It's good to see you have not been idle since we last met."

Naruto nodded, dropping into a ready stance once again. "Yeah, I got a boo-" Anything else Naruto was going to say was cut off as Itachi's fist became implanted in his stomach, so the best he could do was let out a startled gasp before he went flying back into a nearby tree.

The bark cracked a bit as Naruto's back slammed into the trunk, but the blow wasn't powerful enough to send him through the base of the large tree... something Naruto was thankful for, even though his anger was quickly rising. "W-What... what the hell?! That hurt!"

Itachi was standing where Naruto was a second ago, completely impassive. "I told you to prepare yourself."

Slowly climbing to his feet, the blond shot Itachi a venomous glare. "I'd argue, but I know exactly what you're going to say, so I won't."

Itachi merely blinked. Unfortunately for Naruto, the Uchiha in front of him was for the most part still an unknown quantity, but the older boy didn't seem like the type who would get aggravated the way his brother Sasuke would, by baiting him with words. The only way he could hope to beat Itachi was on pure skill alone.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto shot forward, hoping to at least the surprise his opponent. It proved futile, however, as the moment Naruto attempted to throw a jab at Itachi's midsection, it was completely blocked. Not a second later, Naruto had to jump backwards a meter to avoid Itachi's counter, aimed at his shoulder. Standing still but evaluating his opponent, Naruto noticed that Itachi was more unique than most people he had fought so far and appeared to be ambidextrous from the way he was switching back and forth in his stances. Virtually all of his opponents to date had favored either their left or right side when throwing punches and blocking, but so far Itachi had used his right arm for the first punch he hit Naruto with, and his left arm for the counter jab. The only other person Naruto had fought who was ambidextrous so far was Rock Lee. Even Neji, who used both arms for many of his techniques, clearly favored his left side.

Naruto immediately snapped from his musings as Itachi came for him again, starting with a knee to Naruto's gut. The blond managed to block the knee with both hands, then had to quickly shift his head slightly to the left to avoid a jab at his chin. Naruto brought his right leg around for a swift roundhouse, and it connected, however Itachi managed to roll with the kick, negating most of the impact behind it.

The moment before Itachi landed, Naruto grabbed a brace of kunai from his pouch and launched them quickly at the spot where Itachi was going to land. He was immediately elated as he saw at least three of the kunai hit their target, and fought to suppress a smile of victory. This was Itachi, there was no way he would fall victim to something as simple as that; Naruto just wanted to make some space between the two of them so that he could plan his next move.

Jumping backwards, his thoughts were rewarded when 'Itachi' burst into a cloud of smoke, a small log with three kunai sticking out from it falling to the ground in his place. Making a sign with his hands, four Kage Bunshin popped into existence around Naruto and quickly took to the trees, readily fulfilling the objectives that Naruto had thought of right before summoning them.

"Your skill with Kage Bunshin has increased. You no longer need to tell them what to do."

Naruto looked around quickly, but the voice seemed to be incorporeal, coming from all around him. Instead of panicking, he grinned. "Yeah. I figured they are made with my most recent memories, so I might as well think up commands for them to follow before creating them. It's faster that way, plus I can keep my plans away from my opponent."

Quickly running through a short series of hand signs, the air around Naruto began to stir. After a few seconds of standing still, Naruto waited for Itachi to make a move, testing to see if he could shatter the other man's patience. He was rewarded when his senses picked up several kunai heading his way. Releasing the sign, the air around him immediately burst outward, deflecting the kunai that were headed his way, and even snapping a few of the smaller trees around him like they were mere twigs.

One of Naruto's clones had found Itachi when he threw the kunai, apparently, because it had just been dispatched. Naruto looked around quickly as fresh memories assaulted his brain, and spreading his newfound detection abilities into the location he believed his clone was dispelled at, he pinpointed exactly where Itachi was. Launching himself into the nearby trees, he felt Itachi start to move away - but then shortly after his opponent seemed to change his mind and stopped. Wary at this sudden development, Naruto slowed down only to quickly scramble to the side as a fireball blasted through the air where he just was.

Grumbling about the close call, Naruto figured he would return the favor. Making another series of quick signs, he brought his hands up to his mouth in preparation to ignite the chakra leaving his mouth.

He blew sparks and smoke.

Coughing as he waved his hands in front of his face, he couldn't help but grimace as he tried to get the smoke out of his lungs from the jutsu that had backfired on him. "Still... too much..."

Itachi suddenly appeared next to him, causing Naruto to stumble and nearly fall from the branch he was standing on. "I'm sure you realize if I was an enemy, you would be dead or captured right now." Naruto grimaced and nodded, still coughing and trying to empty his lungs from the smoke he had inadvertently inhaled.

Eyes watering, Naruto coughed a few more times before looking up at Itachi, waiting for his next move. The Uchiha didn't make any movement, but frowned, "Show me the signs you performed."

Naruto went through the motions, without molding any chakra this time. When he finished, the frown on Itachi's face only seemed to deepen. "You have too much chakra in your system to use the jutsu so simply. Didn't you pay attention in school?"

Naruto scowled and looked away. "I tried but was ignored whenever I had a question. I don't think it's too hard to imagine why. After a few months I gave up and tried teaching myself things, but that only works so well."

Itachi sighed - something Naruto had never heard before - and almost appeared to look at Naruto with a small amount of what might have been sympathy. "Follow this sequence." Itachi brought his hands up once again and strung together a series of hand signs that had a few extra motions than Naruto was used to performing. The blond followed along, then turned to the side, molded chakra once more, and blew.

A huge fireball formed in front of him, and he was so startled that he released the jutsu and let it fly early before it was completed. Due to its instability, it crashed through the trees splitting into smaller pieces before finally burning itself out and exploding. Turning to Itachi with wide eyes, the Uchiha merely gave him a small smirk before explaining. "Remember the extra signs I showed you. They allow you to push more chakra into a jutsu that would normally require smaller amounts to function. Now... why didn't Jiraiya ever teach you this?"

Naruto paused momentarily, thinking back on his travels with the Toad Sennin. "Most of the time we focused on summoning and the Rasengan. He gave me a few high level jutsu that use a lot of chakra which wouldn't backfire on me if used normally. He said he was spending more time training my mind rather than training my body. I have enough strength, I just needed to know how to use it."

Itachi remained tight-lipped as Naruto explained. It was obvious the man was forming his own theories in his mind, but if he came up with anything, he decided not to share it.

"Test the sequence I showed you with another jutsu you've had trouble with to make sure it will work."

Naruto nodded rapidly, then quickly tested another jutsu, adding the signs Itachi had shown him. Feeling a larger tug than normal on his reserves than when he always tried this particular jutsu before and had failed, he looked on both sides to see four copies of himself, standing still and looking at Itachi. Curious, he moved his arm and moved it towards his copy.

His arm went completely through. But the copy looked perfect down to the last detail. The one he waved his arm through merely looked at him, blinking owlishly. The real Naruto couldn't help but break out into a grin... the standard Bunshin had been the bane of his existence ever since he had entered the Academy. If only Iruka and that bastard Mizuki could see him now. That's when another thought struck him.

"Why didn't Iruka-sensei ever tell me to add in these extra signs to get my Bunshin jutsu to work..." The question was more rhetorical than anything else, but Itachi must have heard it, because he answered.

"The seals used to be part of the Academy curriculum when I was in school, but that may have changed. Academy students don't have the reserves to warrant using the extra signs, so it was likely forgotten. You claim you were ignored in the Academy, so it's likely that no one thought about it. They probably thought you were goofing off."

Naruto frowned as Itachi's words struck home. He was known for being a goof-off... and Iruka had viewed him as one as well before they got to know each other better.

One of Naruto's Kage Bunshin landed on the branch next to him, and the real Naruto quickly stuck his hand out. Pumping chakra into his palm, the Kage Bunshin helped it to spin in what was probably record time. Concentrating with all his might, the Rasengan formed in seconds, and Naruto quickly spun on his heal and slammed it into Itachi.

But Itachi merely popped from existence in a puff of smoke, causing Naruto to stumble and slam his Rasengan into the trunk of the tree, shattering it.

"That wasn't very nice, Naruto-kun. I even gave you pointers." The voice was back, seeming to speak from all around him.

Naruto merely grinned. "You're a shinobi. You always need to expect the unexpected." The grin dropped from his face, "... thanks, though."

There was no reply, and Naruto dropped back down to the forest floor. He formed another few Kage Bunshin and had them fan out to search the area. Upon reaching the pseudo-clearing he had used his air burst technique in before, he paused and looked around once more.

He didn't have much warning when fresh memories suddenly assaulted his brain, and his eyes went wide. A Kage Bunshin had dispelled itself, memories warning him of his impending doom.

A loud clang of metal smashing against metal filled the clearing, and Naruto grunted at the pressure his left arm was under. The blow itself was strong enough to almost knock him over, and he nearly stumbled before his right foot moved in such a fashion to enable him to brace himself from being pushed further. Turning his head to look, he saw a smirking Itachi, kodachi in his hands as he pushed against Naruto's arm blade.

"You managed to pull that out fast."

Naruto grunted, feeling his forearm tingle from the vibrations that had jarred it seconds ago. "I've been practicing."

"I can see that. Very good. But how good is your elemental control?"

Itachi leaped backwards, and fell into a guard stance. Naruto's eyes went wide as the Uchiha's blade started glowing a dull red. "Fire?"

Nodding, Itachi twirled his short blade in the air, leaving a dull red afterglow in the air. "It looks like my blade is heating up, and hot metal is weak. However, my elemental chakra is merely coating the blade." Looking around briefly, Itachi walked over to a decently sized rock that was lying on the ground. He brought his blade down, slicing cleanly through the rock. The parts where the blade had touched were reduced to molten slag.

Naruto was partly awed by the display, but confusion settled on his features instead. "But for me... my wind element flows through the blade, through the metal itself."

Itachi nodded. "That is why wind chakra is stronger than any other element in close combat. Wind and earth are the only elements that can flow through the very metal of a blade itself, but wind is still slightly stronger than earth."

"Though with enough chakra, I could probably overpower any other element regardless."

"When chakra is merely surrounding or imbued in a weapon? Certainly. When using ninjutsu though? It could happen, but not likely. It depends on the amount of chakra and jutsu used. For now, however..." Itachi's voice drifted off as he flashed from existence. Naruto barely had time to register that Itachi had moved before bringing both arms up in front of his torso and blocking Itachi's thrust. Naruto growled and pushed Itachi's glowing blade back, then planted his feet firmly on the ground and pushed off. Bringing his arm across the front of his body in a large swipe, Naruto continued pouring elemental chakra into his blade in the hopes that he'd at least be able to tag Itachi once.

It wasn't meant to be, however, as his extended wind blade merely passed through a Bunshin Itachi left behind. His senses suddenly screamed at him, and Naruto dropped into a crouch, feeling the heat from Itachi's blade swing overhead and missing him by mere centimeters. Filled with determination to hit the Uchiha at least one time, as soon as he fell into the crouch he leaned forward and placed both forearms on the ground, then extended one of his legs backwards in a kick.

He kicked higher than he needed to and aimed for Itachi's gut, and was finally able to smirk in some small degree of satisfaction as his foot connected. Under normal circumstances he would have aimed for the kneecap to cripple his opponent, but this was merely a spar. Safe in the knowledge that he could have just had a victory, he decided to share his grin with the Uchiha, who had hopped backwards a few steps and had one hand on his stomach.

"I could have had you right there."

"Perhaps. But just because a shinobi has a broken kneecap does not mean they are out of the fight. If anything, like a cornered beast, many shinobi will simply become more dangerous and use their best techniques to kill you in an attempt to stay alive."

Itachi twirled his blade once and crouched down into a position that Naruto hadn't seen him use before. "Do not gloat about victories to yourself or others until you know for certain that your enemy is dead or incapacitated. Otherwise you are only killing yourself." Itachi reversed the grip on his sword, so that the blade of the kodachi was pointing backwards.

"Allow me to take away the small comfort you have given yourself. I apologize for letting you gain it."

Before Naruto could blink, Itachi was on him again. He brought up his arm blade to block the attack, only to stand there shocked as Itachi didn't follow through. The man had completely vanished from his sight.

The blond stood still, both arms up in a guard position, looking from side to side and flaring his senses. He caught brief moments where he detected Itachi, only to lose him a moment later. Trying to think of a way to flush the raven haired man out, Naruto swiftly re-sealed his blades and ran through a quick series of hand signs.

An elbow to his chin caused him to lose concentration as his head snapped back from the blow and his hands broke apart. A follow up shot to his gut, followed by a hard kick to his side both knocked the wind out of him and sent him flying a few meters before landing unceremoniously on the ground in a heap.

"Don't bring ninjutsu to a kenjutsu fight. At least not until you can perform them quickly. Kenjutsu focuses on speed, ninjutsu focuses on power. Remember that."

A hacking cough was Naruto's reply as the teen tried to breathe in forcefully since the air had been forced from his lungs. Itachi had done just what he said he was going to do and had taken away any good feelings about his earlier success. Before, Naruto had managed to do a decent job of at least keeping up with the Uchiha. But a sickening realization started forming in his stomach - Itachi had just been gauging his ability - almost to the point of playing a game of cat and mouse. Itachi was incredibly fast. There was only one way to keep up with Itachi's speed, unfortunately it was something Naruto had just started practicing and his control of the jutsu was far from even what could be considered adequate.

Taking several deep breaths, Naruto concentrated and formed a quick hand sign. In the blink of an eye, he was gone from Itachi's field of vision.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at Itachi from the branch he had landed on. He would announce his presence, but wanted to see how long it took for the Uchiha to find him first. Much to Naruto's surprise, Itachi was looking directly at him. "H-How?"

Naruto answered his own question as soon as he saw Itachi's now red eyes. Thinking back, that was now just like another punch to the gut. Itachi didn't even have his sharingan active when they first started sparring.

"I saw you move. I will say that's a rather impressive technique you have there. The amount of chakra you used blinded my sharingan for a second, but as a result it was easy to follow."

Seeing Naruto's shoulders slump, Itachi became curious. Sheathing his kodachi, he also deactivated his sharingan and motioned for Naruto to come back down. The younger shinobi jumped down from the tree he was in, landing a few meters away, and slowly closed the distance. His face held a small amount of anxiousness.

"I'm not going to trick you. The spar is effectively over for now. I'm more curious about the technique you just used. Is that all it does?"

Naruto scratched at his chin and looked away from Itachi before answering. "Well... for the most part. It's a new jutsu as far as I know, I don't believe anyone else has ever bothered with it since it uses a lot of chakra. It was Rin who gave me the idea when I told her I was planning on being able to eventually use my father's Hiraishin technique."

"I see." Itachi's face didn't show he was surprised at hearing of Naruto's heritage. It took a moment for him to recall that Itachi's mother and Kushina were best friends, so it's likely that he already knew. Either that, or Ero-sennin had mentioned something. "Elaborate on its function, then."

Naruto paused, still wary of sharing anything with the man. Itachi must have noticed the pause. "If I was still planning on capturing you for Akatsuki, you'd have been captured and we'd be halfway to the sealing location by now."

The blond shuddered a moment before realizing Itachi was correct. The Uchiha was still leagues above himself in regards to overall skill levels.

"The technique... it uses my wind elemental chakra and pushes the air in front of me away from where I am, sort of creating a vacuum that my body can move into. It lets me move a lot faster than normal because there is no air resistance."

Naruto paused, waiting to see if Itachi was going to say anything. Instead the raven haired man waved a hand, gesturing for Naruto to continue.

"The biggest problem is that I have to be able to see where I'm going, and I can't really change direction once I've started moving. I can only start and stop. Rin says I should take it one step at a time, since I'm still nowhere near being able to understand the seals behind the Hiraishin."

Itachi appeared to be looking off in the distance for a moment, then his gaze snapped back into focus and he looked at Naruto. "That is sound advice. I will give you some pointers before I have to depart. For the moment, let us return to the outpost. Jiraiya-sama is getting bored."

Naruto snickered. "Yeah, there's nothing around here for Jiraiya to perform research on." Itachi gave the blond a knowing look, and he decided to amend his statement. "Well, at least nothing he can safely perform research on, anyway." Itachi actually smirked and chuckled lightly at that comment, causing Naruto to break out into one of his trademark grins.

"Before we go, I have something to give you."

"Eh? What do you-" Before Naruto could finish, Itachi moved quickly and placed a hand on Naruto's forehead. The blond stared at Itachi with wide eyes, as the Uchiha stared at him with one of his more serious expressions. Naruto couldn't say anything else before he felt a cool shiver run down the sides of his face, through his shoulders and down his chest, to finally rest in his stomach.

"I just gave you some of my power. Hopefully you never need to use it, but if you do, you will know when the time comes."

Naruto wanted to ask why he needed more power, but Itachi pressed against Naruto's forehead with his fingertips, pushing his head back slightly. Naruto scowled and moved a hand up to rub his forehead, only to see Jiraiya standing next to them when he removed his hand.

"Is he snapping out of it?"

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama."

Naruto looked between the both of them, confused. "Snapping out of what?"

Jiraiya merely blinked a few times as he looked at Naruto, then turned back to Itachi. "You're right, he does need a lot of help with genjutsu. But chakra control isn't his strong point."

"It doesn't matter where his strengths lie. Such a weakness will get him killed. I didn't even have to try hard."

Naruto was slowly awakening to what they were talking about, and his mood plummeted further. "Don't tell me I was in a genjutsu the entire time." Both of the shinobi didn't answer, but simply nodded once, confirming it for him. Naruto just sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "I don't know why I'm so horrible at them."

Jiraiya mumbled something that Naruto didn't quite catch, but it probably wasn't nice, so Naruto settled for glaring at the man. The glare didn't ease until Itachi spoke up. "You don't need to know how to perform them, but you should at least be able to detect and dispel them."

Naruto frowned. "I detected one you put me in before, remember?" At Itachi's nod, Naruto continued. "But I tried to break it and I couldn't. I was stuck in there until Sakura-chan injected chakra into my system and broke it."

Itachi glanced in Jiraiya's direction. "Genjutsu takes a lot of control, but due to the amount of chakra you have, it makes control difficult for you. There is another way to release a genjutsu that is rather risky, but with the amount of chakra you have it shouldn't be a problem."

Jiraiya just shook his head. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to fall back on that method, he needs control."

Itachi nodded. "He does need control, but this will keep him alive." The Uchiha turned his attention to Naruto. "All you have to do is expel a large amount of chakra from all of your tenketsu at once. That will break any genjutsu placed on you."

Naruto looked at Itachi, then at Jiraiya. "That sounds too easy."

Jiraiya snorted. "It is easy. Only people with a lot of chakra can do it. It takes very little control, but will hurt like a bitch, which is why it's rarely used."

Frowning, Naruto looked away. "Will it work on all genjutsu?"

"Probably." Jiraiya turned to Itachi. "You have more experience with genjutsu than me, what do you think?"

Itachi shrugged. "It should work for most genjutsu with a long duration. For instantaneous genjutsu, like my Tsukiyomi, I don't think it would matter. He needs to work on his detection abilities anyway."

"I need to leave soon, but I assume you have a few days?"

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know what you're going to ask. I'm not much of a sensei."

Jiraiya laughed and placed a hand on Naruto's head, messing up the teens hair as he scowled. "It doesn't matter. The gaki here will soak up anything you tell or show him, regardless of who's doing the actual teaching."

Itachi was looking at Naruto, who was still glaring at Jiraiya. "I can probably hang around for a couple days before Kisame comes looking for me. Very well."

Jiraiya nodded, still smiling. "Good, good. You can help him learn how to nullify genjutsu for a few days, and when that's done, he'll come to Konoha and report in on the status of the outpost. Sound good, Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged, still frowning. "I guess."

"In that case, let's get back. We haven't been gone for long, but I wouldn't be surprised if your mother was back and worrying about you already." Jiraiya reached into his hip pouch as he started wandering off, pulling out a notepad and pen.

Itachi looked at an unhappy Naruto, appeared as though he wanted to say something, but thought better of it and turned to follow Jiraiya.

Naruto stood in the small clearing and watched them depart for a moment, before looking up at the sky and sighing. Itachi had completely manhandled him in their spar, and now Jiraiya was treating him like a twelve year old genin again.

As he departed from the clearing and followed behind the other two, the young man decided it was more than appropriate for him to leave behind any remaining signs of immaturity. It was time to get serious.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm going back and starting to edit previous chapters. As of posting this, Chapters 1 through 3 have been edited, re-formatted, and re-beta'd by Denim88. I'll be editing out old A/N's from previous chapters that don't center around the story itself. There will only be a few 'big' changes, because of ways I've had to change the story since earlier chapters were written. Chapter 6 will have the first of such big changes - namely that Orochimaru is still alive for the time being, not dead.

Much thanks to my beta, Denim88. Also due to him, the next chapter will be a double-whammy, probably, because I'm going to include an interlude before the next 'actual' chapter of the story. Be prepared.

Next: Interlude - Itachi's Whirlpool Encounters

After that: Chapter 19 - Bedroom Eyes


	19. Itachi's Whirlpool Encounters

A/N: I'm putting this up here this time because I feel I should inform everyone of a few things.

Before you start reading this 'Interlude' please understand that it has no major details pertaining to the story WPC. While this does take place in WPC, it is intended as a bit of comedic relief at this point. It's been 18 chapters since I started, and WPC is a fairly serious story. Just relax and enjoy this one. If you want to skip it entirely and just wait for Chapter 19, that's up to you, but I think you'll be missing out on a chuckle or three.

As for Chapter 19, it will be following shortly after this Interlude. I wanted to avoid posting two chapters in one day. Though many of you probably would have liked two chapters in a day, I'm not that nice. Sorry. Seriously though... this Interlude is as long as a real chapter, AND you get another chapter of the same length in a couple days. We're cool, right?

For reference, this Interlude takes place a couple days after Itachi has shown up. So all the shinobi present know about him. Just in case anyone was wondering. This chapter is made up of a series of mini-stories, or drabbles, if you will. The beginning of each 'drabble' will have its own title.

Enjoy!

Interlude

* * *

**Finger Versus Fist**

Sakura clapped her hands together as she took a deep breath, slowly surveying her surroundings. They had received several scrolls packed with supplies from Konoha now that a few of the buildings in the outpost had finally finished construction, and she had been busy for the past couple days getting everything organized. Some of the money they had gotten from a few D ranked missions in surrounding villages was also used to purchase some of the minor supplies they needed.

Looking around the room, there were still a few boxes of supplies that needed to be moved to other rooms. Sakura was more than happy to do all the work herself, organizing things was one of her favorite pastimes, after all. But she had been moving things all day, and was just a tad bit sore. Blowing a few strands of hair out of her face, she looked around one more time, idly tapping her foot. She could go get some help, but who to ask was the big problem. Naruto was up to his ears in paperwork already, she felt bad every time she had to bug him. Jiraiya was a pervert, she didn't want to get near him if she could help it. Kushina was busy reorganizing the Uzumaki clan. Yamato-taichou was out on patrol...

Sakura sighed to herself as she headed for the exit. Everyone had their own things they were doing now to help out with the outpost. It wasn't like there was anyone just lounging around doing nothing. If they were, Naruto would beat them senseless. It was amazing how her idiot of a boyfriend became so mature when he really needed...

Sakura stopped in her tracks as she exited the building. There was a small plume of smoke rising from one of their outdoor fire pits that they used to occasionally grill things. Hovering around that fire pit was someone who had no obligations to the outpost, but was otherwise doing nothing, as far as she was concerned. He was certainly helping himself to their food supply, though. A little manual labor shouldn't be too much to ask.

As she approached, she noticed the man was staring intently at the fish he had placed on a wire rack that was currently propped up over the pit. "Ah... Itachi-san?"

He didn't move.

"Erm... Itachi-san? Hello?"

There was still no indication that he heard her. He was still staring at the fish.

Clenching her hands, Sakura took a deep breath then slowly let it out. He was probably doing it on purpose. Granted, they weren't exactly on the best of terms, nor could they really be considered friends, but he and Naruto seemed to get along well enough. She didn't see why she should be any different.

"Itachi-san, I need your help moving a few of the heavier items in the infirmary. I'd ask someone else for help, but yo-"

She stopped talking when he held up a hand and looked at her from the corner of his eyes. He stood up straight, then used his hand to beckon her over as he resumed staring at the fish.

Sakura took a few tentative steps closer, thinking that he wanted to show her something. As she leaned over a little to get a better look at the cooking fish, something jabbed against her forehead. Hard.

"O-Ow! W-What the hell?!" Taking a quick step backwards, Sakura stared wide-eyed at Itachi, who was looking back at her with an impassive, bored look. His hand was still stretched out slightly from where he had just poked her forehead.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-san. I'll have to help you another day. Cooking fish takes all of my attention, if I want it to taste acceptable."

Sakura's left eye twitched. "You... you have to watch the fish cook?!"

He reached up with his other hand and pulled something from his mouth. It was a stick of Pocky. She didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry. The fearsome Uchiha Itachi was cooking fish and eating Pocky. "It will only take a minute. I don't need that much help."

Itachi slowly shook his head, waving his half-eaten stick of Pocky at her as well. "I cannot do that, Sakura-san. Between making sure my fish cooks properly, and savoring my appetizer, I have no way to help you at the moment. But like I said, I will be free later."

Growling low from the back of her throat, Sakura promptly stomped up to Itachi, grabbed the half-eaten piece of Pocky, and immediately tossed it into the open fire. "All I asked... was for a little help. Just... a few minutes. That's it!"

Itachi stared at her impassively, slowly looking back and forth between her and the fire. "Why did you do that to my precious?"

Sakura's anger deflated slightly due to confusion. "Precious?"

"Yes. My Pocky."

Before Sakura could blink, she felt another quick jab at her forehead, causing her to stumble backwards a few steps as she rubbed her head. "W-Why do you keep jabbing at my forehead?!"

Itachi was staring at the fish once again as he answered. "First, because it was the best way to get you to pay attention. Second, because you annoyed me, and Naruto-kun would be upset if I harmed you any worse."

"Oh, so you just poke my forehead really hard then, huh? Cripes." Sakura sighed as she slowly rubbed the sore spot in the middle of her forehead. It was probably going to bruise at this rate if she didn't go look in a mirror and take care of it. "Fine, you leave my forehead alone, and I won't mess with your Pocky. Deal?" She couldn't keep the smirk off her face. Sakura knew she only had to appease him for now, if his candy was really that precious, she could perhaps use it as blackmail later...

Itachi turned his head slowly to look at her, then nodded. "That's a good deal."

Sakura began to sweat. She was smart, but there was no way Itachi could have seen through her little plan. "I don't see what's so good about it."

Itachi looked at her, expression completely serious as he pulled a box of Pocky out from one of the larger cargo pouches on his pants. "If I compare the size of your forehead to my precious, you can't mess with it for a long time."

Nobody ever doubted Itachi wasn't fast, Naruto least of all. But not even Itachi was fast enough to dodge the punch that rocketed him into the nearby river.

* * *

**Hair Dye**

Naruto covered his mouth as he yawned, having just woken up from a brief nap. He was currently laying on the roof of the administration building, right above his office, in fact. It amazed him how the outpost was barely a month old, but generated so much paperwork already. The biggest pain was that they had to document everything they bought if they used any of the money Konoha had set aside for them. If there was even a single ryo not documented, he'd probably have to suffer through a verbal lashing from the civilian council in Konoha, and he'd rather not have to deal with that.

"Finally awake?"

Sitting up quickly, Naruto looked around to spot who had surprised him. He didn't have to look far, as the person was sitting right next to him, a couple meters away. Naruto stared blearily at the man, blinking his eyes a few times in the bright afternoon sunlight.

"I couldn't have been asleep that long. How long have you been here?"

Itachi shrugged. "A few minutes."

Naruto laid back down and rested his left forearm over his eyes, blocking the sun. He waited several seconds for Itachi to elaborate further, but the man remained silent.

"So what are you doing up here? Looking for me?"

"No, actually, I came up here to dry off away from prying eyes."

Moving his arm away from his eyes, Naruto turned his head to look at Itachi. Sure enough, the man was not wearing a shirt, and had stripped down to a pair of shorts. Not wanting to look any further, Naruto grunted and placed his arm back over his eyes to block the sun once again.

"You're not supposed to swim with your clothes on, you know."

"I wasn't given much of a choice."

"You mean someone tossed you into the river?" Though Naruto wasn't looking at Itachi, the surprise was clear in his voice.

"No, I was punched into the river."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say to that. Someone had managed to get a hit on Itachi? He had a hard enough time barely scratching the man. "I don't want to meet whoever could do that to you. I wouldn't survive."

"I don't think your girlfriend would appreciate hearing that come from you."

Naruto bolted upright, and stared at Itachi, blinking rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight. "What did you do to Sakura-chan?"

Itachi just stared at Naruto impassively. "I said something that she did not find very funny. As a result I found myself with a sore jaw and in the river."

Naruto stared at Itachi for a few seconds, then turned away, obviously thinking. "You don't strike me as the perverted type, so it was either about her power or her forehead."

"The forehead."

Naruto rubbed his own forehead, mumbling. "Well no wonder. That has always been a sensitive topic."

"Duly noted." Itachi stood up and walked over towards the side of the roof. Looking closely, Naruto saw that Itachi had created a makeshift clothesline with some ninja wire strung between two air vents. "So how do you and Sakura-san get along?"

Naruto was silent for a moment as he pondered how best to answer the vague question. "Well enough, I guess. We haven't been able to see each other much lately. She's been busy setting up the medical building while I've been buried in paperwork."

Itachi grunted, Naruto assumed that meant the older man understood what he was saying. "It's impressive that you get any time at all. Most shinobi don't have the time or patience for romance."

Naruto nodded in confirmation, even though Itachi wasn't looking at him. "So I've heard. I grew up an orphan, so everything I do with and feel for Sakura-chan is new to me."

"It's good to get that experience."

They both settled into silence for a moment, Naruto watching as Itachi messed around with his clothes on the wire for a few moments. Thoughts drifting, the blond leaned back down and looked up into the sky, watching the few clouds as they slowly drifted by. "Itachi, did you ever have a girlfriend?"

Naruto heard the little bit of rustling that was happening stop for a few seconds before it started up again. "I... guess you could say I had a girlfriend."

Naruto frowned. "You guess? I thought it was an all or nothing thing?"

"I was placed in an arranged marriage when I was ten years old. I didn't meet her until I was almost thirteen. We went out a few times, but there was always a chaperone, so we were both uncomfortable. We were to be married on my twentieth birthday."

Naruto felt a cool breeze as the sun went behind one of the larger clouds. "So what happened to her? Did you take her with you?"

"I killed her."

Naruto scrambled to his feet, shocked. He had been talking to the Uchiha so casually that he had completely forgotten the man across from him was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of his kinsmen. "You killed her?! Why?! Was she just another target in the massacre?!"

Itachi was staring at Naruto, his face as unreadable as ever. "Sort of. But she was seeing someone behind my back. I didn't really care that she was, but it still stung. I will admit that it made killing her easier than it would have been otherwise"

Naruto relaxed slightly, somewhat cowed by Itachi's explanation, but still a bit irked nonetheless. "Oh, I'm sorry. How did you find out?"

Itachi walked over towards the edge of the roof and looked out over the outpost. "I did respect her, so I wanted to kill her first. This way she wouldn't have to panic when she heard of others being killed. I was going to be polite about it, so I went to her apartment since I had a key. I didn't find her anywhere downstairs, so I went upstairs to see her bedroom door was closed. I heard a lot of movement, then when I knocked on the door she shouted for me to wait a moment."

Itachi paused for a second as he remembered. "I waited for her to come to the door, since I was only going to apologize to her and then kill her anyway. Upon opening the door, she looked a bit disheveled, and when she spotted me in my ANBU gear with my blade drawn, she immediately started crying and shouting that she was sorry. When I inquired, she looked surprised, but then confessed that she had been seeing another man for several months behind my back."

Naruto waited as Itachi let out a sigh, then looked up to the sky. "I told her I accepted her apology, then beheaded her." The Uchiha turned around and stared at Naruto, his eyes hard. The blond didn't reply, but winced and looked sick.

"Then I killed the fucker hiding in the closet."

Naruto blinked, he was still feeling uneasy but couldn't help it as he barked out a laugh. "Did you know who he was?"

Itachi shook his head negatively, and the conversation stalled as a result. Naruto didn't really want to get into the details of the massacre, and it didn't seem like the perpetrator was willing to impart with any more stories about it either.

"Have you thought much about your future with Sakura?"

Naruto blinked, slightly surprised at both the question and the change of topic. "Actually... no. It's all so new to me that I've just been enjoying the time we have now."

Itachi nodded. "This might sound strange, coming from me, but I envy you a little."

Naruto couldn't believe his ears. One of the most powerful shinobi he knew... envied him? "You've got to be kidding me."

"No. Up until the massacre, my entire life had been set up for me. I had no freedom. What to eat, when to sleep, what missions to take, how quickly to advance through school, who I had to date and marry. The only ones who ever respected my feelings were my mother and Sandaime-sama."

Naruto looked up to the sky. Was Sarutobi-jiji looking down at him now? "I miss the old man."

"I do as well."

Naruto was confused. "But you..."

Itachi held up a hand and cut him off before he could continue further. "As Jiraiya-sama said the other day, there is more to the story of my status than you are aware. The only person who can tell you about it is Tsunade-sama, the current Hokage. If she wants you to know, she will."

Naruto crossed his arms and pouted a little, unhappy that something important was being held from him, but begrudgingly respecting the reasons. "Fine, whatever."

After that, the two settled into a comfortable silence. The sounds of construction going on in other places of the outpost kept the silence from becoming overbearing. Itachi continued watching out over the outpost as his clothes dried on the wire, while Naruto decided to lie back down on the roof and continue his nap from earlier.

Just as he was about to doze off, Itachi's voice broke through his cloudy mind.

"If you and Sakura-san have kids someday, I wonder if you will have any boys with pink hair?"

Naruto found he was unable to fall back asleep after that.

* * *

**Who's Your Daddy? Nii-San!**

"What's it like to have a brother?"

Itachi looked at Naruto, wondering how he should answer this. The two of them had been chatting about the outpost for the past hour as his clothes dried, and now somehow their conversation had finally settled on Sasuke. He supposed it was revenge for causing the blond to be unable to fall back asleep.

_"Nii-san!"_

_"Hey, Nii-san! Let's go do kunai practice!"_

"I guess the best that I can say is that it had its moments. Though I doubt all siblings are the same to everyone."

Naruto was quiet for a moment. He had a pensive look on his face.

"I can tell you have another question. Just ask it."

Naruto frowned, but nodded. He started talking, albeit hesitantly. "Was... was Sasuke... a good brother?"

_"Nii-san, can I get a piggyback?"_

_"Nii-saaaan, that's not fair! I want to go too!"_

"Considering he's the only brother I've ever had and have no one to compare to, I'd have to say yes. He had an inferiority complex that was pretty strong for a kid his age."

Naruto snorted, causing Itachi to blink. "Sasuke? He must have been totally different before the Academy then. The Sasuke I know has the biggest ego of anyone I've ever known, other than maybe Orochimaru. He's the only guy I know who was able to completely ignore the girls, even when they were hanging all over him."

Itachi shivered a little, but Naruto didn't notice it. "I think I know why."

Naruto looked at Itachi, surprise written all over his face. "Really?"

_"Nii-san... a girl I met at the park today kissed me on the mouth then said I had to take responsibility. I asked Mom what the girl meant, but she just laughed and told me not to worry about it. Can you tell me what it means, Nii-san? Please?"_

Itachi shook his head and frowned at Naruto. "Just because I know why, doesn't mean I want to know."

_"Nii-san, where do babies come from?"_

* * *

**Out Of The Closet**

"Itachi, don't you ever smile?"

"I have no need to smile, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked at Itachi as they walked over towards the medical building. Naruto was going there to check on Sakura and her team, and how much progress they had made so far today. Itachi had apparently decided to invite himself along for the inspection.

"Seriously. If someone tells you a joke, isn't it polite to at least smile?"

"Not if the joke isn't funny."

Naruto grinned, a plan popping into his mind. "I bet I can get you to smile."

Itachi merely raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome to try."

The blond nodded. "Okay... here goes..."

Itachi stopped walking as he felt something rubbing against his sides. Upon looking down, he noticed that the Captain of the outpost had taken it upon himself to... tickle... the nukenin.

"Naruto-kun..."

Naruto stopped what he was doing and looked up slightly at Itachi, eyes wide. "Huh?"

"What are you trying to accomplish? I'm not ticklish."

Naruto frowned. "Really? Damn. There goes that plan." Naruto moved away, arms crossed and frowning.

"I find it very... interesting... that you chose to tickle a fellow male. They have a word for that in some places, you know."

Naruto looked at Itachi, his expression blank.

"Homosexual."

Naruto blinked a few times before the word finally clicked. An intense blush settled on his face as he began waving his arms frantically and spluttering about. Itachi, in a rare bout of humor, decided to egg the boy on.

"I always thought you were into Saku-," Itachi stopped talking for a second and raised both eyebrows, "Ahh, I see it now. You swing both ways. I'm sorry, I do not."

Itachi was secretly amused at the stricken look on Naruto's face, and decided to move in for the kill. "If you choose to persist in making me smile using that method, I will be forced to use Tsukiyomi on you."

Naruto went slack-jawed and pale. "I-I'm not g-going to, but would you really?"

Itachi nodded solemnly and started walking towards the medical building once again, leaving Naruto standing there. He talked to the boy over his shoulder. "You will be served empty ramen bowls for 72 hours straight."

Itachi kept walking, a smug smile on his face that he would never let Naruto see.

* * *

**Feel Good Time**

"Mom!" Naruto gave a big wave as he entered the medical building, Itachi right on his heels. Naruto was still pouting from Itachi's earlier jibes, but upon seeing his mother his demeanor changed instantly.

Kushina was currently holding a few scrolls and talking to Jiraiya, but as soon as they heard Naruto's voice, she turned and waved at him, while Jiraiya just gave a small smile. As the two men approached, Jiraiya spoke up first.

"Naruto, I was just talking to your mother, I'm going to be heading out tonight. I need to pass along some information to Tsunade, and meet up with a couple informants. I'm hearing some nasty things through the grapevine concerning our friend, the Lightning Daimyo."

Naruto nodded as Itachi's eyes narrowed. "I understand, ero-sennin."

Jiraiya mock-pouted. "When do I get to be jiji again?"

The blond smirked as Kushina laughed at their antics. "When you stop writing smut."

The Toad Sannin let out a big sigh. "Oh well, guess I'll never get to hear it again."

Naruto snorted and Kushina gave the older man a light scowl as she swatted his arm. "Jiraiya-sama, my son is young and has an impressionable mind. I won't have you giving him ideas."

Jiraiya let out a perverted giggle as Naruto turned to his mother with an exasperated look. "Sorry Mom, you're a few years too late."

Kushina merely stared at her son, shocked into silence as Jiraiya's giggles continued. Itachi was standing off to the side, listening in but wisely choosing not to participate.

Kushina rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Well, I guess I need to have the talk with you to make sure _ero-sennin _didn't damage you too badly. I want you to know what you're doing so I can have grandkids."

Jiraiya's giggles started turning into grunts as Naruto's face turned several different shades of crimson.

"I need to get ready to go, so I'm going to start packing. I hope your talk goes well, Naruto!" Jiraiya winked and waved at Naruto over his shoulder as he headed towards the end of the hallway. Naruto sighed and hung his head until his mother let out a sigh of her own.

"That man... I swear." The redhead shifted her attention to the one person she hadn't spoken to yet. "Ah, Itachi-kun, we've all been so busy I haven't had a chance to talk to you yet. How have you been?"

Itachi appeared to squirm slightly under the sudden scrutiny, but managed to give Kushina a tight-lipped smile. "I've been fine, Kushina-san. Always busy. I haven't remained in one place this long for at least a year."

Kushina nodded. "I can understand. But from what I remember, you've always been a busy bee. Remember when I used to babysit you? You were quite the hellion."

Naruto was standing behind his mother just enough so that she couldn't see him snickering at the way she was talking to Itachi. For his part, the Uchiha managed to take everything she said in stride.

"I vaguely recall you watching over me when I was younger. Thank you. I hope I was not too much of a burden."

Kushina waved it off. "Oh, no, not at all! You were a blast. We used to play pranks on your father all the time, but I don't think you remember."

Naruto was almost doubled over with laughter, he was biting on his fist to try to keep it down.

"Oh, Itachi... I know I can ask you and get an honest opinion. You've always been straightforward." Kushina let out a small sigh. "I remember when I was younger... I still feel great. But tell me, Itachi-kun, do you think I still look attractive?"

Naruto immediately stopped his laughing and straightened up, staring at Itachi. He squinted his eyes at the man and started nodding his head rapidly. Itachi easily got the message, though his gut was telling him even if he didn't think she was, he needed to lie and tell her yes.

"Yes, Kushina-chan. You barely look a day over twenty-four. You could probably grab the attention of any man you wanted." Itachi had to admit that she did look damn good for a woman her age, but he would never say that out loud. Especially with Naruto there. Not to mention this woman used to change his diapers.

Kushina was smiling brightly at the praise. "Ah, thank you, Itachi-kun. I feel so youthful now, I think I'm going to go run a couple dozen laps around the outpost. But first, I have an idea... oh, and Naruto?"

Naruto was staring at his mother in mild shock. When she called his name he blinked a few times and shut his mouth. "Uhhh... huh?"

"I will have that conversation with you sometime later. Soon, though... if that's not a problem. Okay?"

Naruto nodded, too afraid to trust his voice right now.

"Great! See you later!" The redhead waved and started walking away from them, before abruptly turning back towards them and pulling an unsuspecting Naruto into a quick hug. That done, she left Naruto with a stupefied look and walked in the same direction Jiraiya went moments before.

Standing there stumped, Naruto scratched at the back of his head. "Why is everyone acting so weird today? I don't get it."

"Maybe it's something in the air."

Naruto looked at Itachi, who's face was completely impassive, as usual. "You know, I can never tell if you're serious or joking."

"I'm seriously joking."

"I hate you."

* * *

**Delicious**

"Oh, there you are."

Naruto and Itachi turned to see Sakura walking towards them, having just stepped out from one of the nearby rooms. She was dressed in her typical outfit, the only difference at the moment was that her hair was tied up in a short ponytail.

"Hey, Sakura-chan. Sorry I'm late, I've been talking with a few people on my way here."

Sakura squinted slightly as she looked at Itachi, then turned to Naruto and gave him a smile. "It's no problem. I just finished patching up one of the construction workers who had a minor accident. We can just go into this room, I have a few things to talk to you about and have a few questions as well."

Nodding, Naruto followed Sakura as she started walking towards the room she had just come from. After a few steps, Naruto turned to look over his shoulder at the Itachi. "Ah, I'll catch up with you later Itachi. Are we still on for that training session later today?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Naruto gave Itachi a small wave as he stepped through the door and let the door swing closed quietly behind him.

Itachi turned around and started heading towards the exit, only to stop in his tracks when Jiraiya came back through the door once again. It unnerved Itachi a bit when he noticed Jiraiya had a somewhat perturbed look upon his face. The man didn't notice him either until he spoke up.

"Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya blinked and shook his head, then focused on Itachi. "Ah. Um, Itachi. Do you know where the gaki went off to?"

Itachi jerked his thumb back in the direction of the hallway. "He is with Sakura-san in one of the rooms down the hall. She had some reporting to do."

Jiraiya frowned. "I need to talk to him. Normally this wouldn't concern me, but since it concerns his mother, he should know about it."

Itachi's warning sense flared. "What's wrong?"

Running a hand back through his long hair, Jiraiya sighed and shook his head. "I don't know what happened. I was minding my own business, making sure I had all my items that I needed for my trek back to Konoha. Kushina came up to me, positively beaming, and asked if I needed a model for the cover of my next Icha Icha book."

Alarm bells were going off in Itachi's mind causing him to wince slightly; he had a good idea where this conversation was quickly leading.

"She asked me if I thought she still looked good for her age. I was not lying when I said yes. Not that Naruto would have accepted any other answer, as he was standing here with me at the time."

Jiraiya was giving Itachi a disbelieving look, but finally nodded and rubbed at his chin. "You know, I've known Kushina longer than I've known Minato. Not personally, but I've knew her father, and met her through him when she was just a little thing. I guess because of that, I've never really looked at her that way..."

Jiraiya continued mumbling to himself, but Itachi tuned the man out as he listened to a voice that seemed to be approaching. Looking out a nearby window, he saw Kushina and someone else who's name he couldn't remember. They were carrying a few items, and were heading towards to door to the medical building.

"Jiraiya-sama."

Jiraiya snapped from his musings and focused on Itachi. "What?"

"I just... remembered... something I have to take care of. If you need anything from me before you leave, you know where to find me."

As the white-haired sage nodded, Itachi spun on his heel and swiftly walked down the hallway - towards the back exit. He didn't feel like being around in case Kushina decided to talk to Jiraiya some more. He never did well in uncomfortable situations.

[[]][[]][[]][[]][[]][[]]][[]][[]][[]][[]]

"Thanks for helping me carry these, by the way."

Yuugao smiled as she entered the medical building behind Kushina. It never ceased to amaze her how alike the woman and her son, Naruto, were. That was probably the biggest reason why the two of them got along so well, their personalities were so similar and Yuugao had plenty of years dealing with Naruto. Not to mention Kushina couldn't stop expressing her gratitude towards Yuugao for watching over Naruto for so long, even if it was an assignment. Yuugao hadn't told her -quite- everything yet, as Naruto had pulled her aside beforehand and mentioned that there were a few things that should only be explained in front of the Hokage. Yuugao was wary about hiding anything from the boys mother, but eventually agreed when he promised to explain everything when they were with the Hokage.

"It's not a problem, Uzumaki-san. All this paperwork did look rather heavy."

"Feel free to call me Kushina, Yuugao. No need to be so polite with me."

Yuugao couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. "Very well."

Kushina turned her head slightly and gave Yuugao a big smile, one that made a shiver run down her spine every time she saw it. It was a good shiver, though. Every time she saw that smile, she saw Naruto's face. The resemblance was uncanny.

As they turned a corner to head down one of the larger side hallways, Kushina's pace slowed, and Yuugao had to stop for the woman to catch up. "Is something wrong?"

Kushina was frowning now, but still shook her head negatively. "No, everything is fine. I was just here minutes ago, and Itachi and Naruto were both here. I guess they finished up whatever they were talking about. A shame too, I had another question for them. I'll just have to catch up with those two later."

As they walked town the hallway, Kushina made a comment about how heavy the boxes of paperwork were, and that she wanted to take a small rest break. Yuugao agreed, the boxes were heavy. The duo moved over towards one of the benches that was next to one of the rather large potted plants in the hallway. Getting the plants was Sakura's idea, she said it helped keep the medical building from being a bland place... which was the thing that most patients hated about hospitals. Yuugao was inclined to agree, and Kushina was more than happy to acquire some decently-sized plants to put in the hallway.

Kushina stretched a bit after she set the box down on the bench, Yuugao immediately followed suit.

"Wow, I'm glad you showed up when you did. I thought I could handle both boxes at first, but I probably wouldn't have made it halfway here before I needed to set them down."

"You're in pretty good shape. I think you would have made it."

"You think so?"

Yuugao gave the other woman a once-over, and it didn't seem like she was fishing for compliments, so she simply nodded. "Yeah, I think so. It looks like you've kept in shape all this time."

Kushina smiled at the ANBU. "Yes... I wanted to keep in shape. Just in case. At least I know I'm not deceiving myself, since Itachi said I still had it too."

Yuugao's eyebrows shot sky-high. "Itachi-sempai? Really? I have a hard time imagining him saying something like that."

Kushina giggled a little, and briefly covered her mouth with her hand. "Well, I have noticed that he can be rather stone-faced. I blame his father. But I've always been good at breaking people's rigid emotional shells, and he's no different."

Yuugao mused that Naruto was the exact same way, so she knew where he got that aspect from now. She was going to comment further, but suddenly stopped when she heard a sound.

"What's wrong?"

Kushina must have noticed Yuugao stiffen, because she was watching the younger woman intently.

"Nothing. At least I think it's nothing. I thought I heard something."

The moment she finished speaking, she heard another noise, louder this time. It sounded like something being moved, but it was hard to tell, because it was quick. Glancing at Kushina, she noticed that the redhead had heard the sound this time too, and was looking at a nearby door.

"It's coming from that room?"

Kushina nodded. "I can sense two people. They're close to each other, so it feels like only one person, but the chakra feels... odd... so I know that there are two."

Returning a nod in affirmation, Yuugao quickly slipped over towards the door and leaned her ear against it.

_"Be careful with that. Are you sure you know what you're doing?_"

Yuugao quickly backed away from the door for a moment with a puzzled expression, then pressed her ear to the door once again.

_"It's okay Sakura-chan, I... think I know. Only one way to find out!"_

_"Ah! Not there, silly! Put it here... that's better."_

Yuugao once again moved back from the door, a blush starting on her face. Kushina was pelting her with questions immediately after. "What's wrong? Your face is turning red! Is something going on in there?

The purple-haired ANBU simply shook her head and motioned towards the door, trying to hide her red face. It wasn't something she had anticipated ever hearing.

Kushina moved forward, brushing her hair out of the way so she could place her ear against the door. She held her breath for a second and listened intently. The first thing she heard was something that sounded like a... like a... moan?

_"Ooohh... Naruto... when did you learn that! Thats... amazing! It feels so warm!"_

Kushina quickly backed away from the door, and quickly held a hand up to her nose as she felt it start to run. Pulling her hand away from her nose, she was slightly startled to see there was blood on it. Her complexion paling, she bolted for the exit, completely embarrassed.

Yuugao was only a bit startled by Kushina's departure. It must have been more... serious... in that room than she had expected. Casting one final glance at the door, she started to jog down the hallway. She would come back and finish moving the boxes later.

Once she turned the corner, the large vase containing the plant in the hallway started shaking. A few seconds later, the plant lifted up from the vase, showing the face of a man underneath it. As it lifted higher, more of his features became visible. As he stood up completely, his white hair was easily visible, as well as the notepad he was furiously scribbling away on.

"This is good material... yes... very good." A series of perverted giggles filled the otherwise silent corridor.

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"Did you hear something outside the door just now?"

Sakura turned to look at the door, then back at Naruto, wondering what he was after. "No, why?"

Naruto simply shrugged, but still continued looking at the door. "I thought I heard a noise. It wasn't that loud. Maybe I imagined it."

Sakura didn't say anything, but instead turned her attention back to what had held her captivated for the past minute. "I still think this is amazing Naruto. You say you managed to learn how to do this in only three days?"

Naruto chuckled as he placed both hands behind his head. His cheeks were both glowing bright red. "That's right, Sakura-chan!"

Grinning, Sakura reached to grab the warm object as she leaned to inspect another item. "Still, I didn't realize it had so many applications. You're going to have to teach me a few things later. That is, if you don't mind."

"Ah, anything for you, Sakura-chan. You know that."

It was Sakura's turn to blush. "Thank you, Naruto."

As he waved her off, he looked intently at the object she was holding. "Go ahead, try it! I know you can feel how warm it is, but I bet it tastes even better than you're thinking!"

Looking at the object, Sakura nodded. She grabbed a pair of chopsticks with her other hand, broke them, and chanted out a quick 'Itadakimasu!'. After a few seconds of slurping, she turned to Naruto with wide eyes.

"Naruto! It tastes like it just finished cooking! The seal suspends time too?!"

Laughing out loud, Naruto merely muttered a 'yep!' and gave her one of his biggest grins.

Sakura didn't need to say anything else, Naruto was happy enough watching her completely devour the cup of ramen.

* * *

Next chapter, as promised: Bedroom Eyes

Expect it soon!


	20. Bedroom Eyes

Heads up/warning: There is an intense lime in the second part of this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 19

- Six Days Later -

Naruto exhaled slowly, completely sore from his new training regimen. After his sound beating by Itachi in their spar, he decided to work even harder towards getting stronger than he was now.

It had been nearly a week since then, and new people were still showing up to the outpost on nearly a daily basis. Because of that, he really didn't need to summon so many clones for the construction efforts, as there was only a relatively small number of people with the necessary skill needed to direct his clones on what to do. As a side effect, Naruto was able to use more clones for training purposes; most of which spent a lot of time working on his newest technique, one he had dubbed 'Slipstream'.

The purpose of the technique was twofold. First, it removed all air resistance in front of him. Part of the current technique he was working on used wind element chakra to push the air away from in front of him, and have more wind push against his back. Depending on how much of his chakra he dumped into the technique, he could create a vacuum pocket in front of his body that also assisted in pulling him into it, further speeding along any travel.

Secondly, Naruto realized he'd have to master some form of transportation technique if he ever wanted to be able to utilize his father's Hiraishin technique properly. Depending on the exact circumstances, Naruto even considered changing the technique's name, since he wouldn't be using the lightning element for the teleportation portion. His father did come up with the original seals, though, and that was one of the few reasons why he wanted to keep the same name. There was still a while to go, he had one clone working on the Seal Primer notebook that Jiraiya had given him on a daily basis. Any attempts at reverse-engineering Hiraishin still proved futile, however, as he was still too much of a novice when it came to seals in general. The formulas used were too complex to use more than one clone a day to try to understand.

He tried it once, and had a massive headache the next day.

Progress with other wind element techniques had been coming along slowly, but with all the other duties in his authority now, he didn't really have any reason to complain. Rin had only taught him the Great Breakthrough technique so far, and was withholding any further wind techniques until he had completely mastered that one. Once again chakra control was proving to be an issue, though with the extra signs Itachi had shown him during their spar, the technique totally decimated anything in front of him. It would be useful if he ever needed to fight an army, but against one opponent it would waste a lot of chakra, especially since an intelligent opponent would only need to use a simple Replacement technique to get out of the way.

Naruto finished dispelling the last of his clones, then stretched as he looked up at the sky. There was a nice cool breeze in the late summer air, and the sun had finally disappeared beyond the horizon, causing the western sky to be bathed in a deep red glow. To the east, the first stars were beginning to twinkle.

Just as he prepared to turn and head back towards the outpost, something tickled his new senses. He still wasn't used to them, but after getting small lessons from both his mother and Nayoko over the past several days, they both claimed he was a natural. Closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and concentrating... he stretched his new chakra detection abilities out, testing them, to see if he could focus and find out how many people were approaching.

It didn't take long, and at least one of the people approaching was an Uzumaki, as they focused their detection sense on him as well. It was an awkward sensation when another Uzumaki focused on him, it was almost as if their senses somehow resonated off each other and multiplied - he was able to detect everything, down to the smallest insect. If he hadn't been practicing often, he likely would have been overwhelmed. According to both his mother and Nayoko, his senses were extraordinarily strong; Kushina attributed it to being a side effect of having the Kyuubi sealed within himself.

If it was or wasn't, Kyuubi had been silent ever since the last time he talked to him in the hospital. He wasn't exactly eager to meditate and visit the kitsune either, so he just accepted the explanation of his relatives.

Naruto felt the two signatures stop for a moment at the edge of a dense copse of trees. Curious as to why, Naruto mentally prepared himself just in case. If the other person with Uzumaki senses was hostile for some reason, all he needed to do was create a handful of clones - at least one of them was guaranteed to make it to the outpost for some backup. Grinning, he realized that his old self would have decided to handle whatever it was on his own... but the thought of his mother, Sakura, his new family, and all those in Konoha who were depending and counting on him somewhat tempered his enthusiasm. He couldn't take unnecessary risks anymore.

His gaze quickly snapped to where a person immediately appeared a few meters away from him. It was hard to make out a lot of details in the diminishing light, but the person was definitely female. She had a slender figure and was wearing extremely short shorts, and a shirt that could have easily passed as a lab coat in the dim light. Her hair was a deep red, perhaps brown - again, the lack of lighting was throwing off his perceptions. Naruto had to admit she was fairly attractive, and the glasses she wore seemed to add a bit of sophistication to her look.

"Hi there. How are you?"

The girl seemed slightly taken aback at his friendly approach. "I-I'm fine. Uhh... I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to say. Do um... you know an Uzumaki Kushina?"

Naruto gave her a small smile and a nod. "You must have gotten her message. I'm her son, Uzumaki Naruto."

The girl smiled back at him. "That makes my search a lot easier. I've... always gone by just the name Karin. But I guess I have a clan now. My name is Uzumaki Karin, nice to meet you."

Naruto held out and hand, and Karin clasped it, giving him a firm handshake. "It's always nice to meet another member of the family, especially since I grew up an orphan. I only found my mother recently."

Karin's eyebrows raised momentarily, then she frowned. "Really? I'm sorry. My parents died when I was very young, I can barely remember them. My shishou took me in when he discovered me after a bandit raid killed everyone in the town I lived in."

Naruto released her hand and smiled, turning to look in the direction of the outpost. "It sounds like you have a nice master. If you want, we can head towards the outpost and you can talk to my mother?"

Karin nodded. "Yes, even though he can be very strict a lot of the time, Orochimaru-sama took me in, so I can only thank him..." She continued speaking, but Naruto stopped listening and turned to listen to her in shock.

"Orochimaru?!" Naruto shouted out, interrupting her.

The girl next to him took an involuntary step backwards, eyes wide. The amount of venom in Naruto's voice was palpable. "Y-yes... I know... I mean, I realize he's not very popular from the whispers I pick up in various towns. But he took me in when no one else would and appreciates my talents. So, I can't really complain. He's never treated me badly..."

Naruto cut her off again, "He's just using you."

Karin's head drooped slightly, but Naruto could see the scowl on her face. "Don't think for a second that I don't realize that. He doesn't pretend to be friendly or care for any of his subordinates. But he has given me food, clothing, and a place to sleep, and I only need to do some research and scouting for him. I don't really have a right to complain, do I?"

There was a sigh from the blond, and he was rubbing the back of his head furiously. Naruto was obviously angry, but when she put it that way, there was no real way he could refute her reasoning. That was a rather bitter pill to swallow. "I guess. I don't like it, but if there was no other alternative, I can't say I blame you."

Karin gave him a small smile, but still didn't move. "Is your mother still going to want to talk to me once you or I tell her about Orochimaru-sama?"

Naruto winced at the respect she gave the man by addressing him as 'sama', but chose to keep silent. There were more pressing matters. "I think that depends on what you plan to do with the knowledge she may be willing to give you."

Karin bit her lower lip and looked at the ground. "I managed to sneak out with another person I work with, so Orochimaru-sama doesn't even realize I'm here."

"Would you be willing to leave Orochimaru and come work for us instead? We pay well and offer lodging... not to mention you'd be able to be with real family."

Karin's eyes were wide and her mouth was slack. She looked at Naruto, almost appearing as if she was looking through him for a moment, until she bit her lower lip and slowly looked towards the thin forest she arrived from. She stared at it silently for several seconds before Naruto heard her sigh.

"I'm guessing there is a reason why you won't immediately say yes."

Karin looked to Naruto again. It was difficult to tell, but her expression seemed to be made of equal parts sadness and embarrassment. "I... want to. But... there's someone I like..."

Naruto chuckled, more to himself than anyone else, and rubbed his forehead. "Maybe they'd be willing to join up too. We can use almost anyone."

Surprise was once again clearly evident on Karin's face. "Really? Are you guys desperate?"

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Not really desperate, but extra help couldn't hurt. So long as they aren't an S ranked nukenin, I don't see any issues."

Karin winced a little at that."Well, he is a missing nin, but the last time I saw a Bingo Book, he was only B rank. He doesn't really get along with others that well either. Are you still willing to give him a chance if he wants to?"

Naruto frowned, mind reeling. The description sounded like it could fit a person he used to know very well. There was only one way to find out.

"We'll talk about it. Bring him over."

Karin gave Naruto a tight smile, then looked over towards the forest and made a unique gesture with her hands. It didn't take longer than a second for a block of ice to form in Naruto's stomach when his eyes fell upon the burning red of the Sharingan. The only difference was that this pair belonged to the younger Uchiha brother.

"Naruto."

Naruto squinted, otherwise not moving a muscle. "Sasuke."

"W-What?! You two know each other?!"

Naruto looked at Karin, giving her a small grin. "You could say that. We've known each other since we were... oh, around seven years old. But we didn't really talk to each other until we became genin teammates."

Karin looked excited. "Well, that should mean any discussion should be easy, right?"

When neither boy responded, her mood instantly soured. "It could never be that simple, right? Let me guess, Orochimaru-sama has something to do with it?"

"You could say that." Both boys were apparently locked in a staring contest, and Sasuke seemed to be more than happy to let Naruto do all the talking.

"Does your offer still stand then?"

Both boys finally turned away from each other to stare at her. Naruto looked rather exasperated, but Sasuke was just giving her a puzzled look.

"I'm sorry, Karin. I know Sasuke. He wouldn't do anything that doesn't come with the immediate promise of him getting stronger."

Karin gave Naruto a knowing look as the Uchiha merely snorted and looked away. He did decide to speak again, however, surprising the other two. "If it has anything to do with joining him and returning to Konoha, he's right. I don't want anything to do with it. I broke all the bonds I had there years ago."

Naruto simply shrugged. "It has nothing to do with Konoha, and the original offer was only made to Karin. She asked that I extend the offer to you, which I did. If you don't want to take it, I don't care."

Keeping his face impassive was one thing Sasuke was always good at, but at Naruto's comment, there were telltale signs that Sasuke's bravado seemed to crack just a little; an eyebrow twitched and his jaw momentarily clenched.. "You... don't care? That's a first."

Naruto looked off into the direction of the outpost. There were a few specks of light in its direction, but nothing overly bright. "Due to recent events I've had a shift in my priorities. Chasing after my old teammate isn't as high on the list as it used to be. There are too many people who are important to me that are relying on me to be there for them. I can't just ignore them."

Shifting his stance, Naruto gave his old friend a big grin. "I had to grow up, Sasuke. There's things I want to do, but I can't right now. This doesn't mean I'm giving up on my promise to bring you home, but it's going to have to wait a little while. So don't die or let your soul be taken over by Orochimaru any time soon, alright?"

"Tch." Sasuke had his hands on his hips and looked away from Naruto. If he had a response, he chose to keep it to himself. Karin huffed a bit and looked like she wanted to interject on Sasuke's behalf, but Naruto cut her off.

"So what's it going to be, Karin?"

Any anger that had been showing on her face drained immediately. She sighed and looked back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke a few times, then turned to Naruto and slowly nodded her head. "I... don't think it will be easy to leave Orochimaru-sama's service, but I'll see what I can do. I at least want to make sure I'm not doing something with my ability that I shouldn't be."

Naruto gave the girl a big smile. He risked a glance at the Uchiha, but Sasuke was still refusing to look in their direction.

"Is it possible that I can meet with Kushina for a little while tonight before I come back?"

Naruto grinned. "I don't see why not. She'll be happy to meet you."

"Karin."

Both Naruto and Karin looked at Sasuke, who had his back to them. He was talking to them from over his shoulder. "I have to go take care of some business in Rice Field Country. I'll be back in about two weeks. Depending on what you learn, I may need to borrow your skills for a little while."

Sasuke pivoted slightly so he could stare at Naruto directly. "That won't be a problem, will it?"

Naruto couldn't help but smirk. "She chose to come here. She can leave whenever she wants. I don't own her."

Sasuke gave Naruto a curt nod, then started walking away. "See you in two weeks, loser."

"Until then, bastard."

Nothing further was said between them, and Sasuke immediately disappeared from sight.

"I wonder what he's up to." Naruto scratched at his chin as he watched.

"I don't know. The closer we got to this area, the more distracted he got. Not that he ever talks a lot to begin with..."

Naruto chuckled, nodding at the girl. She crossed her arms and pouted at him. "Stop that! It's like talking to a brick wall, he can be so adorable yet so annoying!"

Naruto's chuckles quieted down, and he waved off her comment. "I have no idea how you can find him adorable. Must be a girl thing." Shaking his head, he tossed a grin her way, "Are you ready to go talk to my mom about your abilities?"

Any agitation Karin had before immediately vanished. "Of course!"

Chuckling once again, Naruto turned and started walking in the direction of the outpost. "Follow me!"

* * *

Naruto stretched and yawned as he leaned back in his seat, thoroughly exhausted from the long day. He had finally caught up on all his paperwork, and was he ever thankful it was done. It had only been a couple weeks, but it was enough for him to dread what was to come once the outpost was fully operational. Of course, by then, there would be more people able to take some of the more mundane paperwork that didn't need his attention. At this phase, however, he wanted to be aware of absolutely everything.

That included mission reports. A few people had been running minor D rank missions to villages nearby which Konoha had deferred to Whirlpool's jurisdiction. While the pay for them wasn't much, it was still something - and at the same time was enough to purchase food and some smaller supplies for the outpost without having to use any of the funds Konoha was extending to them. Not to mention that they weren't really being offered much more than D ranks at the moment anyway. They hadn't built up enough of a presence or reputation yet to be considered for any larger tasks.

Standing up, Naruto moved over to one of the windows in his office which overlooked what they had started calling the courtyard of the outpost. Many of the buildings were being built next to each other in the shape of a 'U', with the administration building that housed Naruto's office and a few other small offices in the center, while other buildings were built to each side. To one side of his building stood the medical building, and on the other side was the recently completed barracks.

It was too dark to see anything, and the meager lighting didn't offer much of a view, and the moon was only a sliver in the sky, so it didn't offer much in the way of illumination. It appeared as though one of the fire pits was lit, though, which meant someone was cooking dinner. A lot of the lights were still turned off, as they didn't have a central generator in the outpost yet. Each building was given its own small generator, but it wasn't enough to power the entire building at one time. Case in point, other than the hallway leading to his office, and his office itself, all the other lights in the administration building were off.

Naruto yawned once again as he moved back towards his chair, then sat down once again behind his desk. Eying one of the newer reports that he hadn't touched yet, he picked it up and immediately recognized Ino's fine print. This was the report in regards to the construction of a greenhouse, for growing a basic supply of food when the winter season hit. Their outpost was further up north than Konoha was, and no one was comfortable taking chances with the weather; the sparse wooded area of coniferous and pine near the outpost was enough explanation that it could get cold where they were.

A light knock on the door to his office caused his eyes to shoot up from the report, to settle on the entrance. "Come in."

There was a light click as the latch on the door released, followed by the door itself slowly swung inward. A head of pink hair leaned into the opening.

"Sorry, is this a bad time?" Sakura had a small smile on her face as she asked the question.

"No, I was just looking over one of the last reports before I finish up tonight. How are you, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura entered the office as Naruto was talking, and closed the door behind her. That done, she turned back around to face him once again, a small frown marring her otherwise pristine features. "I miss you."

Naruto couldn't stop a frown from forming on his face as well. "What? But I'm here all the time, I see you every day."

The girl sighed and shook her head as she walked closer to his desk. Naruto finally noticed that she had a small stack of papers clutched in her arms. "No, I mean I miss being around you. We haven't been able to sit down and just talk, just the two of us, since before Itachi showed up. He's been gone for a few days now, and nothing has changed, even though he isn't training you anymore."

The frown on Naruto's face continued to deepen. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I've just had a lot on my mind, and-"

"No, no, it's fine. I totally understand." Sakura completely cut him off before he could apologize any further. "I haven't exactly had any free time myself, setting up the hospital and all. Thankfully everything seems to be in order and running smoothly now, so most of us are actually getting some downtime."

Now Naruto couldn't help but smile at the news. Knowing the medical building was fully operational was a big relief. They hadn't had any emergencies yet, thank Kami, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Sakura had done an excellent job in getting the place running, it was actually ready to go a week ahead of schedule.

Naruto gave his girlfriend a big smile as she slowly walked around his desk, with the papers now clutched in one of her hands. "These are the latest reports from the hospital, showing that everything is up and running. You can take them to Konoha when you leave."

The blond accepted the offered papers, giving them a quick glance. "Thanks Sakura-chan. This will be a big help."

As he turned to set them on his pile of documents he was going to be taking with him, she asked another question. "Oh, by the way... who was that downstairs talking to your mother? I've never seen her before, and it looked like they were in deep conversation."

"That was another Uzumaki... she said her name is Karin. I just met up with her a couple of hours ago. I'm not sure how closely related we are, if at all. But I'm sure that's something my Mom is going to talk with her about. They both have nearly the same hair color, so who knows." Naruto briefly considered telling her about Sasuke and how he was traveling with her, and the she worked for Orochimaru as well, but decided to save that explanation for later. He was still waiting on the verdict from his mother before he made any decisions about Karin.

"Well I hope she is."

Naruto looked at Sakura from the corner of his eye. "Really? Why?"

Sakura folded her arms under her chest. "Less competition for your attention. I'll admit that she's not bad looking."

The captain of the outpost merely gave Sakura a surprised look, but chose not to comment. Sakura apparently had other plans in mind and wasn't going to let her boyfriend remain opinion-free. "I take it by your silence that you agree."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "Not necessarily. I just don't want to be punched through a wall. I'm already sore from training earlier today, not to mention how much it would cost to have to fix the wall."

If it were possible, Sakura looked a bit sheepish. She had apparently been considering doing exactly what Naruto was trying to avoid. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"No worries, Sakura-chan. I should be apologizing too, I haven't been paying as much attention to you as I should be. I'm a bad boyfriend." Naruto had finally finished organizing the few stacks of papers on his desk, and got ready to stand up. However, before he could, there were two petite hands on his shoulders that immediately pushed him back down. He looked up at Sakura with wide eyes as she looked back at him, her own eyes smoldering with emotion.

Without another word, she forced him to lean back in his chair and proceeded to straddle his lap. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she let her chin rest on his shoulder and whispered into his ear. "You're not a bad boyfriend. You're perfect. It's just hard for me to accept sometimes that you are responsible for quite a lot, and I can't get the attention I want."

Naruto was completely motionless in his seat. They had hugged and done things comparable to snuggling before, but this was an entirely new experience. She had never been this... close... to him before, at least not facing him. Not that he hadn't seen things like this before. It had just never happened to _him_. Especially not with _Sakura_.

He felt her hands start rubbing his upper back and shoulders. She started talking again, but it was still in a whisper. "Why are you so tense? Relax."

Naruto was afraid his own voice was going to crack from nervousness, so he chose to whisper as well. He turned his head so that his mouth was right next to her ear. "Sorry, Sakura. I'm just not used to this."

He didn't have his arms around her, but felt the shiver through her arms on his shoulders as he whispered into her ear. For some strange reason, that alone helped him to relax.

"Did you train all afternoon? Your muscles are all knotted up. I don't think that's something Kyuubi bothers with fixing."

Turning his head just a little further to the side, he saw a faint green glow, and realized that Sakura was probably checking him over. Not that he was complaining, she had already started doing something that was causing his shoulder muscles to relax. If she kept this up, he was going to fall asleep. "Yes, I trained all afternoon. I haven't had the time to train lately, so I spent most of today catching up."

Sakura didn't reply, but it was easy to feel her fingers probing at his back. He felt her pause for a moment, then before Naruto could act, she leaned back from him and started tugging on the jounin vest he had taken to wearing regularly.

"Off."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Part of his mind was aware that she was still straddling his lower body in the chair while at the same time giving him a rather serious expression. The other part was trying to grasp the meaning behind the word she just uttered.

"What?"

"The vest. Take it off."

"Why?"

"Because I can release the tension better if my chakra has direct contact with your skin. It's always harder to get an accurate reading through thick clothing. Not to mention those vests are made to be chakra-resistant."

Even though he understood, and Sakura had healed him and seen his bare chest plenty of times before... they had never been in a position quite like this when she was doing it. Nodding at her while feeling somewhat bashful, Naruto pulled the zipper down on his vest, and carefully pulled his arms through the holes. As he did this, he was being careful not to make it so Sakura had to stop straddling him. He rather liked where she was, even if he'd never say it directly. At least... not yet.

When he finally got the vest off, he tossed it on top of his desk. "Do you need the mesh off as well?" He was still wearing the semi-transparent shinobi mesh undershirt. It was woven with chakra-resistant threads, giving a little bit of extra protection just in case.

Sakura didn't say anything, but instead grabbed the bottom of the mesh. The moment she started tugging it up, Naruto felt his heart skip a beat and his pulse start to quicken. She was being incredibly bold, and though Naruto could feel a blush starting to grow on his own face, she didn't seem disturbed in the least. The only thing Naruto could think of to explain her apparent apathy was the fact that she was a thoroughly trained medic, and used to removing clothing from her patients.

Once his mesh shirt was off, Sakura dumped it unceremoniously on top of the desk next to his vest. He watched her face as her eyes traveled up and down the length of his torso, and couldn't help but crack a smile and try to joke with her.

"Like what you see?"

She didn't immediately respond, but instead leaned forward into her previous position, wrapping her arms around his shoulders once more, and having her mouth by his ear.

"Yes."

Naruto's mind immediately stopped working. He wasn't expecting that at all. It was almost as if she was... she was...

Training from Jiraiya started kicking in. He had to be 'good with the ladies' several times while they were on their trip. While he never actually _did_ anything with any of the women he teased or flirted with, he knew how to push their buttons to get what he needed. Most of the time it was because he needed information from them directly, or on occasion it was used as incentive to get them to help him gather information from a source he was having difficulty with.

To do any of those things to Sakura though... he couldn't fathom. Not that he didn't want to - because he did - but out of respect for her, and the fact that she could cause him serious bodily injury, he had never attempted. But this was looking to be a good a time as any.

He slowly brought his own arms up as he felt her fingers pressing spots on his back, easing his muscles. Being careful where he placed his hands, he slowly let them rest on her lower back, so that he wouldn't startle her. She did gasp, however, and almost pulled back, but Naruto's hands were firm, and he kept her in place.

"I thought you were telling me to relax?"

She responded in a harsh whisper. "I was! But what are you doing?"

Even though she couldn't see his face right now, Naruto tried to make the grin that was on his face obvious in his voice as well. "Trying to help you relax too."

Immediately after he finished talking, he splayed his fingers firmly on her back, and pressed inward towards her spine, slowly moving in circles. If possible, Sakura melted into him even more than she already had.

"Ohhh... wow. That was good."

He did it again, a little higher up her back this time, and she let out a low moan right in his ear. He felt her fingers on his back stop moving as he continued his own ministrations, and she started whimpering in his ears.

"Stop... I'm supposed to be making you feel good, but I can't concentrate if... uuhhnn... if you keep that up."

Naruto chuckled, and began moving down her back again. "Sakura-chan, you make me feel good just by being here."

If she was going to reply, she didn't get a chance as Naruto must have hit a particularly sensitive spot. She let out a deep moan and her back arched slightly, then semi-collapsed against Naruto's bare chest. He was tempted to crack another light joke, but feeling her hot breath on his neck made him bite his tongue. Instead, he just slowly rubbed his hands up and down the length of her spine, feeling her muscles twitch through her shirt whenever they brushed against a particularly sensitive spot.

It wasn't more than a few seconds after that when he felt her lips press against his neck.

"S-Sakura?"

"Mmm?" She moved her head and briefly kissed another spot on his neck, directly under his ear. "What is it, Naruto-kun?"

"What are you doing?"

She bit his earlobe gently, causing him to shiver, as well as causing his arousal to skyrocket. "I'm making you feel good. You didn't let me finish earlier."

This was an entirely new experience for Naruto, to be doing this with the girl of his dreams. Not wanting any of this experience to go to waste, he reached down, grabbed her ass, and pulled her lower body up tightly against his. Sakura gasped in surprise, and he felt a chuckle of her own reverberate against his chest.

"I must be insane."

Naruto knew she felt his arousal through his pants, and it was confirmed when she slid back and forth slowly while still straddling him. She was breathing heavily against his ear as she did it, and there was the occasional small gasp mixed in.

Reaching up, Naruto rubbed his hands up and down her back once again, then placed his hands in such a spot where he could move his fingers under the bottom hem of her shirt. He didn't lift it up, but moved his hands up enough so that they could touch the skin of her back directly.

"Are you having a good time, Sakura-chan?"

She leaned back, surprising him slightly, and moved her face in front of his. Her cheeks were a bright crimson, and her eyes appeared to be glazed over.

"Shut up."

Her lips came crashing down on his so fast that Naruto was caught completely unawares. Her hands moved from his shoulders and cupped his face in her hands, her thumbs slowly rubbing over his whisker marks as she kept her mouth firmly pressed against his. All other movement between them stopped as their tongues warred back and forth, neither gaining any clear advantage over the other.

After what seemed like an eternity to Naruto, Sakura slowly pulled back from the kiss, and let her forehead rest against his.

"I love you."

Naruto felt something in his chest explode at those words. She was looking right in his eyes as she said it, and she spoke with perfect clarity. There was no way he could have mis-interpreted what she just said. If the girl of his dreams wasn't sitting in his lap right now, he felt as though he could take on all of Akatsuki at once.

"I love you too, Sakura-chan."

She gave him a silly lopsided grin. "I know."

He chuckled in response, then caused her to squeal as he gave her a quick peck on her lips and grabbed her ass once again. He absolutely adored the smile that settled on her face. "Naughty naughty, Naruto-kun."

"I can't help it, Sakura-chan. You're just too tempting."

She let out a light laugh at his words, but it immediately changed to another moan when he pulled her lower body against his again. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders once more, Sakura leaned into him fully as her hips started rotating over him slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed. Naruto listened intently as she began alternating between moaning and breathing heavily in his ear.

Naruto's hands moved up to settle on her hips after a minute, and he slowly massaged them as she continued with the rotation she had started. Naruto elicited yet another large gasp as he turned his head to bite her earlobe this time.

"Naruto... Naruto-kun...."

He pressed his mouth against her neck as he grinned, so she could feel the movement of his lips. With a small amount of reluctance, he pulled his head back slightly so he could whisper in her ear.

"What is it, Sakura-chan?"

Her voice was a mere whimper as her hips continued their rotation. "I... I want to..."

"Want to what, Sakura?" Naruto knew what she wanted, but the more perverse side of Naruto wanted to see just how much he could get her to say. He lightly blew into her ear, causing her breath to hitch.

Sakura looked like she wanted to speak, but her eyes screwed themselves shut and she started moving faster. After several seconds of silence Naruto realized that Sakura was likely not going to say anything else, at least nothing intelligible. His hands snaked downwards once more, grabbing her, which caused her lower body to stop rotating in his lap. Instead, he started a push and pull motion, pulling her roughly against his pelvis.

It didn't take long after that for Sakura to press her mouth against his neck, and let out something akin to a low-pitch scream with her mouth closed. It was still an awkward sensation, the vibration from her voice relayed from her closed lips onto his neck, causing a tingling sensation. Her entire body shuddered once, then a second time, and she completely collapsed against him. Naruto could feel her heartbeat going a mile a minute through her top as she rested against him, and her hot breath was once again blowing against his neck.

Naruto slowly rubbed her back as her breathing returned to its normal rate. She shifted for a moment without saying anything, then placed a feather light kiss on his shoulder.

"Idiot." Her voice was so quiet, he barely heard it.

"Really? I thought you liked that."

She let out an unladylike snort and swatted at the back of his head. "I did like it. It was just embarrassing as hell. I've never done that before, and I never thought I'd be doing it here. It just felt too good to stop."

His pink-haired girlfriend sounded like she was still out of breath as she talked, and he couldn't help but crack a smile at her total honesty. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I did too."

"But you didn't..."

She didn't finish the sentence, and Naruto turned his head slightly to see her face from the corner of his eye. She had the side of her head resting against his shoulder, and was giving him a frown.

"It's alright Sakura-chan. If you feel like it, there can be other times."

Sakura didn't reply, but she shifted her lower body back away from his torso slightly, and he felt her drag one of her hands down along his chest and stomach. His eyes went wide.

"S-Sakura-chan? What are you..."

Naruto immediately shut his mouth and looked at her from the corner of his eye once again. This time, instead of a frown, she was sporting a sly grin. "I'm not letting you use this as leverage against me later. So shut up and let me work."

The blond didn't have it in him to argue, so he let his head lull back as Sakura's hand started teasing the skin along the waistband of his pants. His eyes almost closed completely when there was a sharp knock on the door.

Naruto's eyes immediately flew open as Sakura inhaled sharply and quickly jumped off of his lap. "Y-Yes? What is it?"

The voice from the other side was masculine, but it wasn't one he immediately recognized. "Uzumaki-taichou, your mother requests your presence downstairs to discuss the details of a certain Uzumaki Karin. She told me to knock and let you know."

"Thank you, I'll be down momentarily." Naruto listened as he heard footsteps slowly move back down the hall, then turned to the person standing next to him and gave her a sour look. "Talk about a mood killer."

Sakura nodded as she gave her boyfriend a sad smile. "Are you going to be okay? I don't mind..."

Naruto waved it off, shaking his head, causing Sakura to frown. "It's fine, Sakura-chan. I don't want to keep Mom waiting, and I have a funny feeling she saw you come up here and knows what we might be doing. That's why whoever came to get me wasn't her, and they didn't enter the room."

Sakura was still frowning, but sighed as she accepted what Naruto had said. "It's a shame you have to go to Konoha tomorrow morning to report in..." She purposefully let the sentence hang, and when Naruto looked at her again, he saw the corner of her mouth teasing upwards into a grin once again.

"That just means I'll be in a hurry to get back that much sooner, right?"

"You better if you know what's good for you. Someone might come along and sweep me off my feet while you're gone."

"You would really let someone other than me do that? You're not getting soft on me, are you?"

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but immediately snapped it closed. Her face scrunched up for a few seconds, before she finally shook her head and smiled. "You finally got me. No, I wouldn't."

Naruto blinked owlishly at her. "You mean, I won an argument with you? Do I get a prize?"

She chuckled at him as he stood up while putting his mesh shirt back on. "Maybe when you get back. I'll see you off tomorrow morning, but have a safe trip, okay?"

"It's only a few hours away for shinobi, Sakura-chan. Besides, I won't be alone."

Sakura walked up to him as he was putting on his vest, and zipped it up for him. "It doesn't mean I won't worry. Akatsuki is still out there. Even if Itachi is supposedly on our side, the rest of them aren't."

Naruto was about to protest, but stopped as he saw the expression on his girlfriends face. It wouldn't do him any good to argue with her, so he just nodded and gave her a big smile. "I'll be safe, I promise."

She chuckled and gave him a quick peck on the lips, then turned and started walking towards the door. "Idiot, that isn't something you can promise. But it is a nice thought." She unlatched the door and opened it, then turned to look at him before stepping through. She started to say something, but then stopped as she looked at his pants, a small blush lighting up her face. "Don't keep your mother waiting. I'll let her know you'll be down soon. Oh, and you might want to do something about the front of your pants. Sorry."

Sakura then left him alone with a puzzled look on his face. Looking down, he felt himself blush as he saw a small wet spot on the front of his pants. A quick fuuton technique dried the spot in a relatively short amount of time, and Naruto headed for the door to see what his Mother wanted to do about Karin.

* * *

**A/N:** *tugs on collar* Well, that was fun. I know some of you may be wondering why Naruto didn't fly off into a frenzy when Sasuke showed up... it's because he's growing up. Like he said, retrieving Sasuke is important to him, but there are others relying on him, and going after Sasuke would let them all down.

Also, Chapters 4, 5, and 6 have been edited.

Much thanks goes to Denim88 for being my beta on this story, and helping me to go back and fix up previous chapters.

Up Next: No Place Like Home


	21. No Place Like Home

Chapter 21 - No Place Like Home

Kushina had a hard time keeping her eyes off her son as they traveled at a steady clip towards Konoha. Even though he was swiftly approaching sixteen, and she hadn't had a single thing to do with his growing up, his personality was so much like hers when she was his age that it was uncanny. Not only that, but other than her smile, if he grew out his hair a little longer, he could nearly pass off as a complete copy of Minato. She didn't have a lot of time to be around Naruto, considering how busy they both were at the outpost. So quiet moments during their travels were a good opportunity to size him up. She didn't really want to stare... the last thing she needed was to make him uncomfortable.

Looking at the way his hair swayed in the wind as they traveled along the branches reminded her of Minato's hair, and the thought of her partner brought a smile to her face. They had so many things they had wanted to do together, but the arrival of the Kyuubi had ruined those plans. Taking a deep breath then letting it out slowly, she absentmindedly tucked a loose strand of her long hair behind her ear.

"Are you alright?"

Her eyes snapped back to her son, he was currently looking at her over his shoulder. Every half an hour or so he would ask if she and Rin were okay, or if they needed to take a break. It was a nice gesture, though she had to admit it was getting just a little annoying. He had a tendency to ask whenever he caught her looking at him, though, so she was probably partly to blame.

"Naruto-kun, for the last time, I'm fine. I promise. If Rin or I need to stop, we will let you know."

It was easy to see his shoulders stiffen a little, as well as the small frown that appeared before he tried to disguise it as a resigned smile. Giving her a quick nod, he started jumping ahead a little faster. Kushina couldn't keep a frown of her own off of her face which showed up as a result of his reaction, and it remained there until a voice broke her thought process.

"I realize he might seem annoying, but I'm just as worried about you as he is."

Kushina turned her head slightly to look at Rin. The younger woman was traveling next to her, Naruto had taken point.

"I know. I didn't mean to snap at him. You know how I can be when annoyed."

The other woman let out a light laugh and nodded. "I know better than anyone. From the lessons I've been giving him, I can tell he is just like you in that regard as well." Rin let out a sigh of her own before she continued. "You might not remember, but we're within an hour of Konoha. This is the closest you've been in sixteen years."

Kushina felt a shiver travel up and down her spine. Normally she couldn't get within a few hours of Konoha before she started panicking, and eventually both her and Rin just gave up entirely. The memories of losing Minato and Naruto had just been too much, and everything about Konoha would have reminded her of them. Her eyes caught a flash of gold and green in the foliage in front of her as they moved along through the trees, and a small smile graced her features. Because she had found her son again - or he had found her, rather - there was no pain keeping her from returning to Konoha.

She did know one thing for certain. The moment they had Konoha within visible range, she wasn't letting her son out of her sight. Ever.

Kushina almost sped right past Naruto if Rin hadn't caught her arm and brought the two of them to a stop, one branch behind Naruto. He was holding up a clenched fist, universal sign language for everyone else in a party to stop immediately. She couldn't see his face, but was able to tell the general location that he was facing. Stretching out her detection abilities, she let out a gasp as she discovered quite a few chakra signatures at the fringe of her senses.

"Do you know who they are, Naruto?" Kushina whispered to him, and she watched as he shook his head. Looking over his shoulder at the two women, his expression was one of complete seriousness.

"A patrol this close to Konoha wouldn't be this large. There is a merchant road near here, but it has too many people for a merchant caravan. I'm going to get closer to check it out. Wait here."

Before Kushina could say anything, Naruto disappeared instantly in a swirl of leaves. Pouting silently, she stood up from her crouch, and leaned against the tree trunk.

"He'll be fine."

Kushina glanced at Rin, who was giving her a gentle smile.

"I know that. It's just... just..." Kushina knew what she wanted to say, what she wanted to express... but finding the words for it was not easy.

"I understand that you're worried for him. Everyone knows, especially Naruto. When he was annoying you earlier, he was trying to show he was worried about you too. Perhaps a little too much, but these things are new to the both of you."

Kushina merely looked at Rin with a raised eyebrow. "You sure know a lot for never having kids of your own."

Rin gave her best friend a sad smile. "I wanted kids. I still would like them, some day, if at all possible." Rin looked away before she continued. "I just have the unique advantage to where Naruto is willing to talk to me about his feelings for you since I know you better than anyone else."

Kushina's eyes shot wide open. "His feelings for me?"

Rin looked at Kushina once again, a serious expression on her features. "He loves you more than he can express. While it might have been funny watching him try to find the words to express how he felt about you, I understood what he was trying to say. Finding you was like finding a piece of himself that he didn't know he was missing. He grew up as an orphan, and never knew the love of a parent. Now that he has it, he's desperately clinging to it."

As Rin spoke, Kushina was looking down towards the ground, rapidly blinking as she tried to hold back the stinging tears that were forming in her eyes. She tried to choke out a response to Rin, just to tell the woman that she felt the same way about her son, but before any coherent words could come out, Naruto landed silently nearby, surprising them both.

"Bandits are trying to raid a merchant train. They're awfully bold to attempt something like that this close to Konoha. I need to help the merchants, so you can come with me and watch or wait here until I'm done." His tone of voice was curiously neutral, but Kushina could tell by the look in his eyes that he was still sore from her quick response to his worry earlier. As he turned to leave, she quickly hopped over to the branch he was on and wrapped both of her arms around one of his, stopping him from going anywhere. It didn't take long for him to look down at her, his bright blue eyes looking at her in surprise.

"Wait, Naruto-kun. I want to take care of this."

"What?! But-"

Kushina abruptly covered his mouth with one of her hands, and gave him a stern look. Naruto couldn't help but feel cowed, even though he was the taller of the two. There were telltale signs of curiosity on his face, most noticeable was his brows that were scrunched together. If it was because of her current actions, or because her eyes were probably bloodshot from having her eyes mist up earlier, Kushina wasn't entirely sure.

"I can handle simple bandits. I want to show you what I can do."

Her son looked like he wanted to argue, and she noticed his eyes dart towards Rin. She never moved her eyes from staring at his face, however, and when Naruto looked back in her direction he gave her a small nod.

"Thank you. Follow me."

Without waiting for any acknowledgment, she darted off in the direction where she sensed the large number of people. She heard Naruto start to say something, but it was muffled so she couldn't figure out what it was that he was saying. If anything, he was probably asking Rin what was going on. Kushina smiled to herself, thinking of her best friend. Rin had a way with words, she'd be able to put Naruto at ease.

It didn't take long to reach the stretch of road where the bandits had stopped the merchant train. It was a smaller caravan, as there were only four covered wagons, and from the distance she was at it was impossible to tell exactly what they were carrying. From the looks of things, all of the merchants had been rounded up by the bandits at the back end of the caravan, and were being watched over by two of their raid group.

There was another person walking around with another bandit, who's arms were bound behind him. He was probably the leader of this particular caravan and was going around explaining what was in each of the wagons.

Dead bodies littered the area, apparently the merchants or whoever they had hired to protect their goods had put up a bit of a fight, but not much of one. This group of bandits probably knew what they were doing, since the number of dead merchants looked to outnumber the bandits, at least two to one.

There was a rustle as someone landed next to her, but without looking she knew who it was.

"I can sense twelve bandits here, two guarding the merchants who are still alive, and another ten going through the wagons. I sense another two in the forest across the road, but they aren't moving. They may be acting as lookouts."

"I sense them all as well. I have extra kunai and shuriken if you need them."

Kushina shook her head. "I'll only need one kunai if I do this correctly. If not, you'll be there to back me up, right?"

The reply was immediate. "Right."

She tossed her son a quick glance and a brief smile before jumping forward a few more branches, so she was able to overlook the wagon train while still remaining somewhat hidden. Taking a deep breath, Kushina momentarily closed her eyes and concentrated, then ran through a string of hand seals with practiced ease.

A small breeze kicked up around her, causing some of the leaves to start shifting. Opening her eyes, Kushina concentrated and looked at an invisible spot in front of her eyes. This technique was a lot less draining if she had a water source nearby, but since she didn't, the water would have to come from the air itself. Luckily it was a rather humid day already, so it wouldn't be as draining as it could have been otherwise.

Slowly, a small globe of water was condensing in front of her. Pumping a little more chakra into the technique, it started growing faster and faster, until it was about the size of an average person's head. Feeling the sweat starting to trickle down her forehead, Kushina took a few more deep breaths and went through a couple more hand seals, causing the globe of water to flatten as two branches split out from the sides of it and formed a circle around her.

The circle of water flattened completely, and started rotating around her body. Looking down at the scene below her once again, Kushina used her senses to pinpoint the locations of the twelve visible bandits. Two more hand signs caused a whistling sound that lasted for a few quick seconds, then all was silent once again.

It didn't take long for the startled cries to reach her ears, and Kushina couldn't help but smirk. The twelve chakra signatures of the bandits slowly started to fade, while the two that were in the forest immediately moved in, probably to scope out the situation. Grabbing a kunai from her pouch, she then wiped the sweat from her brow, and hopped down.

* * *

"What happened here?! You! Tell me!"

A wiry looking bandit had his sword pointed at one of the merchants, and the woman was trembling fiercely. Two other members of their caravan were hunched together near her, one holding each arm, apparently in an effort to offer some form of backup and comfort.

"I-I don't know! W-We were standing h-here the whole time! None of u-us saw anything, they just groaned and fell over!"

The woman looked at one of the bandits who had been guarding them just seconds ago, and couldn't help but shiver. She could see that he was breathing, if just barely, but every breath was a wheezing one. It probably wouldn't have looked like much if the man wasn't wearing a white shirt, but the small red spots on the back of his shirt were slowly growing in size. Somehow, he was bleeding all over.

"Liar! You had to have seen something! People don't just randomly start to bl-urgk!"

The bandit's eyes opened wide as he clutched at his throat. The merchants' eyes all opened wide in shock as they saw the pointed end of a kunai sticking out from the front of the man's larynx. One of the merchants screamed and fell over onto their rear, scrambling backwards several feet.

The second bandit who hadn't said anything yet whirled to see who had thrown the kunai, and spotted a woman with bright red hair and piercing eyes. Bringing his sword up into a guard position, he watched carefully as she raised her arm up slightly beside her, and opened her hand so that her palm was facing him.

"You're going to fight me unarmed? Your funeral."

The woman merely smirked at him before her expression grew serious, and his eyes opened wide as her hand started glowing blue. Something started forming in her hand, and at first he thought it was water. The bandit stopped paying attention to her hand as she started moving towards him - but then she surprised him by disappearing from his sight.

Not more than a second later, she appeared in a crouch in front of him. There was no time for him to change his stance, but the look of horror on his face must have been plainly visible, because she grinned. The woman only spoke one word after that, but it was the last one he would ever hear.

* * *

"Rasengan!"

The last bandit was sent flying, spinning like a top through the air, and ended up crashing into a tree quite a distance from his original location.

Naruto stared in open-mouthed shock from his perch nearby. His mother had just used an A rank technique of his father's that only four people in the world could perform. It wasn't a shock that she knew it, considering they were both his parents... but he honestly didn't expect it. The number of people who could perform Rasengan just increased to five, and potentially six if Rin was able to do it. He turned to ask her if she could, only to find out that she was no longer there next to him.

Looking back down to the road, he noticed her standing next to Kushina... who was leaning over with her hands on her knees. Concerned, he jumped down from the tree he was in to see if there were any problems.

Naruto couldn't even ask if anything was wrong before his mother gave him a smile, then stood up to lean against him heavily for support. Caught off guard, Naruto almost fell over before he could brace himself.

"A-Are you okay?"

The side of Kushina's face was resting against his chest, and he could feel the subtle motion of her nodding through his flak jacket.

"I'll be fine in a minute. I used a lot of chakra in a short amount of time, and I haven't done that in years. It felt good, but was also very tiring."

"I wasn't expecting you to use Rasengan."

He felt her tense up a little underneath his arms, and her voice was tight.

"You didn't think I'd be able?"

"Not at all. You're my mom, of course you should be able to. I'm just not used to seeing anyone else use it, so I was surprised."

He could feel the tension immediately drain as she leaned into him once again, and was about to ask another question until he was interrupted.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to thank you for your assistance. Are you from Konoha?"

Naruto turned slightly as his mother pulled away from him, but used her shoulder to continue leaning against him. He was about to reply, but Kushina beat him to it.

"You were lucky we were on our way there. Naruto here is from Konoha, but I'm from Whirlpool."

The elderly merchant looked to Kushina in surprise, and then glanced at Naruto, with something akin to awe.

"Naruto? Uzumaki Naruto, by chance?"

Unsure of where this was going to go, Naruto nodded his head slowly, prepared for anything. Anything, that is, except the big smile and outstretched hand the older man was now offering him.

"I never thought I'd ever get to meet you! I'm from Wave Country, and we'll never forget what you did for us there years ago. Even though the young lady here beat you to it, I'm sure you would have jumped into the fray from what I've heard about you."

Halfway through the man's speech, Naruto shook the man's hand, then nervously scratched the back of his head and chuckled. Sparing a quick glance at his mother, he saw the small grin on her face, and knew the questions were going to be coming as soon as they were done here.

"I'm glad we were in the right place at the right time. You didn't take a mission for protection?"

The man shook his head. "We're still in recovery. We have more money than before, but it still isn't enough to afford the missions ranked higher than C. Most of our caravans are so large that shinobi villages won't assign us anything less than B ranks."

Naruto rubbed his chin and thought about what the man was saying. While they didn't have a lot of manpower yet, being the choice contractor for an entire nation, even if it was a smaller one, could have its advantages.

"Whirlpool would probably be able to take some missions at C rank pay. Not a lot yet, because we don't have the manpower, but we would be able to cover some of your larger shipments, especially if you're willing to combine them."

The man looked excited at first, but then frowned when Naruto mentioned combining caravans to make them larger.

"Combining them? I don't know if that's a good idea, they're already big targets."

Naruto just grinned at the man. "We have some of the best shinobi you can find in Whirlpool. You saw what she did." Naruto jerked his thumb towards his mother, who was now standing nearby under her own power.

Looking between them both for a moment, the man appeared to think to himself for a moment, then nodded and smiled. He felt around in a few of his pockets, then pulled out a small scroll and offered it to Naruto.

"This is a business scroll with my contact information. Contact me in about two weeks, I should have returned to Wave by then. I'll see if I can convince the village elders to start using Whirlpool's services." The man looked questioningly at Naruto before continuing. "I thought Whirlpool was destroyed years ago, though? Is it being rebuilt?"

"Yes, we've returned. Thanks to help from Fire Country, Whirlpool is currently undergoing reconstruction. What is left of the Uzumaki clan has returned as well."

Naruto nodded as his mother finished her explanation. The man looked back and forth between them both with wide eyes. "That's right!" The man pointed at Naruto. "You're an Uzumaki! Your clan is back?"

Grinning, Naruto jerked his head in the direction of his mother. "Yep. This is my mom, Uzumaki Kushina. She figured it was about time we had a family gathering."

Kushina scowled and swatted at Naruto's arm, but chuckled afterward. The elderly man's eyes were still wide open in shock. "T-This is great news! Whirlpool used to be trade partners with Wave before it was... was... destroyed." The mood soured, but Naruto was undeterred.

"We're still in the process of rebuilding, but I'm sure once things are more organized, we can open trade once again."

The man nodded vigorously, and they closed out their conversation. Exchanging a few more words, the elderly merchant excused himself to start getting his caravan moving again.

"So what do you think?" Naruto looked at his mother, who was watching the man give the other merchants - or perhaps his employees - a pep-talk.

"I think reopening trade with Wave would be a smart move. Perhaps we can trade our services for their products. The less of Konoha's money we spend, the better off we'll be in the long run. I appreciate what they are doing, but I wouldn't put it past Konoha's Civilian Council to try to strangle us with fees later."

Naruto didn't say anything, merely nodding and accepting what she said. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed someone approaching, and turned to see Rin had walked up next to them.

"Are we all done? I checked them for injuries, and they are all healed. We can go whenever you're ready."

Naruto turned to Kushina and raised an eyebrow, silently asking if she was ready. His mother didn't give him a vocal reply, but nodded quickly to show that she was.

"Let's go."

* * *

The remaining time for the trip to Konoha passed uneventfully, but they managed to keep the travel from getting dull by talking about what had happened with the caravan that Kushina rescued. After they left the caravan behind, Naruto started the conversation, asking his mother when she learned how to do Rasengan, and then inquiring if Rin knew how to do it as well. Kushina stated that she was the third person to learn it, after Minato and Jiraiya, and she didn't know of anyone else who could. Rin claimed that she probably could have learned it by now, but never really saw a need or reason to.

Naruto both surprised and confused them both when he stated that he was able to complete the technique. Kushina was shocked, while Rin was more confused than anything else. Kushina had seemed to understand with her own use of the technique that it could go further, but she didn't have the concentration to keep going. Comprehension dawned on Rin's face when he explained using elemental manipulation with the technique, but his mother seemed skeptical that he was able to do anything with it. Naruto grinned and said he'd show them when they finally reached Konoha and had a few moments of downtime.

He also asked about the water technique his mother used, to which she just grinned and told him that she'd show him when they had a few moments of downtime, tossing his words back at him.

Not long after they finished that part of their conversation, the main gate of Konoha finally appeared in the distance, along with the faint outline of the mountain behind it. Naruto kept watching Kushina out of the corner of his eyes, just to make sure nothing happened. She noticed what he was doing, however, resulting in a playful grin as she stuck her tongue out at him. Naruto blushed, but managed to keep his mouth shut, even though both Kushina and Rin were chuckling at him. He looked at Rin in surprise, unsure of how she knew what he was doing, but she merely smirked and winked at him, causing the blush of embarrassment to deepen.

Upon arrival at the gate, Naruto went to check in while Kushina and Rin stood nearby just inside.

"I know Naruto wanted to ask, but he didn't, so I will this time. Is everything okay?"

Kushina nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving the Hokage Monument. She was silent for nearly a full minute before deciding to reply to her friend. "Yes. While it's nice to be back... it still hurts."

"At least it looks a lot better here now than it did when we left."

"That's true. Though sixteen years is a long time." Kushina sighed as she looked over towards the check in station, where Naruto was casually walking back towards them. "Way, way too long."

Rin chose not to respond as Naruto walked closer. Not that Kushina would have been able to hear what Rin said, considering Naruto decided to yell towards them.

"So, where would you to like to go first?"

Kushina looked around the area nearby... it had been so long, and she was having a difficult time remembering where most things were. "Well, how about we-"

Before she could finish, two members of ANBU appeared next to Naruto, startling Rin and causing Kushina to take a step back in surprise. Naruto, however, appeared unfazed and turned towards them with a questioning gaze.

The larger of the two ANBU took a step towards Naruto. "Uzumaki-san, Hokage-sama requests your presence as soon as you are able. She has cleared her meetings for the next two hours to be able to talk to you."

Naruto looked surprised. "I just checked in, how did baa-chan know I was here?"

The larger ANBU looked to his smaller counterpart, who explained. "A patrol happened across the remains of a battle. Upon further investigation, they met up with a merchant caravan that explained the situation. We received notice from a messenger hawk, and have been waiting for your arrival."

Naruto didn't reply, but nodded and held up two fingers, waving them forward. The two ANBU nodded quickly and departed in a swirl of leaves. As he turned to look at Rin and Kushina once again, he noticed they were both looking at him, surprised.

"What?"

Rin shook her head, looking puzzled. "Were you in ANBU? How do you know their gestures? I recognize a lot of them because of Kakashi... but..."

Naruto shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-taichou, Yuugao-chan... they were all in ANBU. I just learned from watching."

Kushina was grinning. "They actually followed your order, though. That was impressive."

Another shrug. "I didn't really think about it. I just did it. Probably wasn't worth it for them to argue."

Kushina chuckled as she walked up to her son, and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Still, they didn't choose to correct you. That's saying something, believe me. Now, I guess we should go meet... what did you call her? Baa-chan?"

Naruto laughed and nodded. "Yep!"

"Hokage-sama lets you get away with that?!" Rin looked extremely skeptical.

"Yeah. She didn't really like it at first, but eventually I guess she just gave up and let me call her that. Now though, if I don't call her baa-chan, she gets upset with me."

Rin and Kushina exchanged looks of exasperation, but then both laughed. It wasn't long before Naruto joined in on the laughter as they started the trek towards the administration building.

* * *

"Baa-chan!"

Naruto walked into the Hokage's office with a big grin on his face. Shizune was in the room, standing near the desk with a stack of papers in her arms. She didn't say anything, but did give Naruto a gentle smile as he walked in.

"Hey brat. Welcome back." Tsunade stood up from behind her desk, then walked around it and stood in front of Naruto. She gave him a quick once over, and grinned.

"You're really growing into that look. Still can't do without the orange though?"

Naruto raised one of his hands, looking at the fingerless glove on it. Flexing his hand, he grinned. "You know me, baa-chan. If there's no orange, then it must be an impostor."

Tsunade barked out a laugh then grabbed Naruto in a quick hug, surprising him. It didn't take him long to regain his bearings and return the hug, but Tsunade didn't let him extend it and pulled away, walking back towards her desk.

"So how are things in Whirlpool? I've been getting your reports, though you've been surprisingly vague on some things and completely detailed in others. We also expected you here a few weeks ago for that progress report, and I don't think you've been very candid as to why."

Naruto paused, wondering where to begin. It was true that he had been vague on purpose, he didn't send any information about Itachi or his mother, just in case the messages were intercepted. He had contemplated using toads to send those messages, but the toads hated being summoned for messenger duty, and it would cost him too much to make it worth it. The toads could eat their weight in junk food... it was amazing. It wasn't just the threat of the messages being intercepted that kept him from sharing the news. A lot of the information was of a personal nature, and he wanted to be present when the Hokage, and eventually Konoha, found out.

"Actually, there are some good reasons why I didn't go into too much detail." Naruto was thinking about what to talk about first, though Tsunade apparently wasn't going to give him a lot of time to think about it. As soon as he finished talking, her eyes narrowed to slits, and even Shizune tensed.

"This had better be good."

"Good? Perhaps. Surprising... definitely. In a pleasant way, though, so don't worry."

The Hokage and her assistant both visibly relaxed, but Tsunade still looked wary. Sighing to himself, Naruto figured it would be best to get the biggest and most visible shock over with first. He held up a finger, asking the two to wait a second, and moved back over to the door. Opening it, he looked out into the hallway and said something that neither of the other two in the room could hear clearly.

Naruto stepped back from the door, and walked back into the middle of the room. A few seconds later, Kushina stepped in, followed immediately by Rin, who gently closed the door behind her. The only noise in the room for several moments was the sound of the papers that Shizune had been holding falling to the floor.

Naruto was standing slightly off to the side, watching back and forth between his mother and Rin, and Tsunade and Shizune. Shizune was currently gaping like a fish, and Tsunade's eyes looked like saucers. Rin simply had a small smile on her face, while Kushina was sporting a big grin with her hands on her hips.

"Hey Tsunade-sensei! Did you miss me?"

Tsunade slowly stood up from behind her desk, completely pale. She slowly walked around, eyes squinting now, obviously having a hard time believing what she was seeing. "K-Kushina? Is it... where have you been? We thought you were dead! All this time, and-!"

Tsunade stopped talking when Kushina held up a hand, her face now devoid of any signs of happiness. "I know, sensei. I know. I'll explain everything soon, I promise."

The Hokage didn't say anything else, but the expression on her face softened considerably. Without another word, she walked up to Kushina and enveloped the woman in a hug. "Welcome back, Kushina."

Kushina returned the hug, smiling once again. "It's good to be back, Tsunade-sama."

Pulling away, Tsunade turned to the other woman standing next to Kushina. "Well this is turning into a very interesting day. Welcome back to you as well, Rin."

Rin bowed quickly, smiling at Tsunade. "Thank you Hokage-sama. It's nice to see my home again, even if most of the people that once made it home are no longer here."

Catching the underlying meaning behind her words, Tsunade simply nodded and gave the young woman a tight smile. "I know what you mean."

Moving away from the two women and returning to her seat once more, she tossed an amused smile at Shizune, who immediately squeaked and started gathering up the few papers she had dropped. Naruto moved in to help her, but since there weren't many, she waved him off. Tsunade caught his eye as he stopped near the desk.

"Well brat, I guess congratulations are in order for you once again. I'm assuming this is why you're weeks late, and why some of your reports have been so vague?"

"One of the reasons."

Tsunade's face was an expressionless mask, though one of her eyebrows quirked upwards in question. "There's more? Give me a summary, I'll ask questions later. Shizune, do me a favor and take brief notes so I don't forget anything."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Shizune dumped the loose stack of papers on one side of Tsunade's desk, causing the older woman to look at it with disdain.

Once Shizune was prepared, Naruto started talking. "With my mother being there, she was able to reactivate the pool of water I told you about on my first scouting mission. Using the pool, she was able to contact the remaining Uzumaki survivors, and all of them are now at the outpost."

Once again, the Hokage looked completely surprised, but didn't interrupt, gesturing for him to continue.

"Most of them have low-grade shinobi abilities, but they'll need training. I've been working a little with a couple of them, but I don't have time to teach them everything. They are still able to help out with the few D ranked missions we've been receiving, though. "

"You're trying to tell me it won't be enough if you want to take higher ranked missions."

"It will be a problem eventually, yes. But I do have an idea."

Tsunade leaned forward over her desk, hands clasped together as she looked at Naruto. "If you're thinking that we can lend you some teachers from our Academy, I'm sorry. Our Academy is currently understaffed as it is, I've had to pull teachers to set them back on missions. We've had an increase in the number of missions since winter is approaching, the same thing happens every year."

Naruto rocked back on his heels, and placed both hands behind his head. "I know, our number of missions is going up too. I was going to suggest that we ask Gaara for help."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and simply stared at Naruto for several moments before responding. "He may be willing to offer some assistance if you're the one who asks. If I was to ask, I doubt I'd get very far."

"So do I have permission?"

The Hokage waved her hand, as if shooing him away. "Sure, sure. Go ahead."

Naruto nodded while grinning, then looked out the window, thinking about what to discuss next. "I'll save the talk about what exactly we've done with the outpost for when I go report to the councils, if that's okay with you."

"Anything out of the ordinary that I should be aware of?"

Naruto merely shook his head.

"Very well. Anything else?"

"Yeah, two more things, and they are related to each other. First... Uchiha Itachi is on our side."

He was expecting more of a reaction than he got from both the Hokage and her aide. They both glanced at each other momentarily, then Tsunade grinned at Naruto. "So, he finally decided to show himself to you."

"Y-You knew?! Why didn't anyone tell Sasuke if it was known that Itachi was on our side?!"

Tsunade sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I didn't find out until after Sasuke had already gone missing. Sensei had a lot of notes and reports that I spent months going through. I found out about Itachi's mission over a month after Sasuke had already left. I couldn't tell anyone about it either, just like the Sandaime couldn't, because of the nature of Itachi's mission. We'll speak of this more later. There's a lot more to his mission than you know, and while you do have a right to know the details, there are more important things we need to get through first."

She placed an elbow on the table, and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "Before we change topics, however, you mentioned there was something else in regards to Itachi?"

Naruto nervously scratched his cheek. "Well, it's related to Itachi, but it involves Sasuke. He showed up near the outpost just the other day."

That got Tsunade's interest. She leaned forward over her desk, staring at Naruto intently. "What did he want?"

"Nothing. At least not right now. He was only passing through, and was traveling with another Uzumaki. Her name is Karin, and she is - or was - working for Orochimaru." Naruto's gaze shifted over to his mother, and he saw that she was slowly nodding her head at what he was saying.

"Since you said that she was working for him, am I supposed to believe that she will not go back?"

Naruto looked at his mother once again. "Mom, you talked to her more than I did, what do you think?"

Kushina blinked owlishly at Naruto for a second, surprised that he was deferring the question to her. "I think she would rather stay with us than go to back to Orochimaru, but she won't do anything if Sasuke isn't with her."

Tsunade snorted, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms under her chest. "I don't know what it is about Sasuke that causes female's brains to shut down. Anyway, do you think this Karin girl is a lost cause because of her apparent loyalty to Sasuke?"

Naruto shook his head. "We have the advantage in that I can contact Itachi whenever I need to in an emergency. Sasuke doesn't need to know this, however, and we can have him work for Konoha indirectly through Karin. She wants help with the clan abilities, and in order to get that help, she needs to cooperate with us. Sasuke needs Karin for those same abilities we'll be training her to utilize properly. We can trade her training for help from Sasuke."

Tsunade simply stared at Naruto, and he started squirming under her scrutiny. He developed a full blush, however, when his mother shouted out.

"That's my boy! He's got it all planned out, Tsunade-sensei!"

The Hokage simply looked at Kushina impassively for a few moments, then turned back to Naruto and grinned at him. "It seems you've really thought this through, I'm impressed."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say, so he simply continued blushing and chuckling nervously.

Tsunade held out her hand to Shizune, who handed over the notes she had taken. Glancing over the notes, the Hokage nodded once and set them on the desk in front of her. "Like you said, we'll go over more specific details when we debrief you in front of the council. Before I dismiss you, there is one matter I would like to make you aware of that the council will be bringing up as well. It would be best if you were prepared for this."

Naruto immediately became apprehensive, and it fell upon Shizune to soothe any worries as Tsunade looked through one of the drawers in her desk for information. After a moment of searching, she pulled out a folder that had a few pieces of paper in it.

"I'll be blunt. The shinobi council wants you to have an apprentice."

Naruto gaped, completely shocked. "W-What?! But how? I don't have the time to run the outpost and train an apprentice!"

Tsunade waved the worry off. "Originally they wanted you to take an entire Genin team. I told them that it would be a little much, so they agreed to settle on you taking an apprentice without much argument."

"Why do I even need one? I don't think I can train anyone to the best of my ability. I'm still being trained!"

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Listen, brat. You're a Jounin now, remember? That means you're recognized as a full shinobi, and any training you do is of your own initiative at this point. If you ever want to be Hokage, it is required that you have at least an apprentice. How can you manage all the shinobi forces of a village if you can't manage one apprentice? While we all realize you have the shinobi of the outpost under your control, the connection of master and student is one that every leader must experience at least once."

Naruto frowned but conceded the point. "Do I at least get to pick who my apprentice is?"

"No, sorry. I know you'd pick Konohamaru anyway."

Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "How'd you guess?"

The Hokage simply gave him a look that said, 'You've got to be kidding me.'. "I know you and Konohamaru work together splendidly, and even if you did train him while you were a Genin, it can be noted in your record but it is not official. There was no paperwork written up for it. For that reason, we can't have you train Konohamaru, so we had to find someone else. Besides, Mitarashi Anko wants to have Konohamaru apprenticed to her... she claims that she 'owes it to the old man to help his legacy' or something like that."

Naruto thought back to his first Chuunin exam, as well as a few missions he had gone on where Anko supervised, and couldn't suppress a shudder. "I feel sorry for him."

Tsunade chuckled. "I wouldn't. Anko may be... unique, but she is extremely dependable. She'll take care of him."

"What about Moegi-chan and Udon?"

"They are still getting training from Ebisu, and will continue to group up with Konohamaru for missions."

Naruto nodded, happy with the knowledge that the other two weren't being left behind. "So, who am I being assigned?"

"After nearly an hour of deliberation, it was decided that Hyuuga Hanabi will be apprenticed to you."

"Eh, Hanabi-chan?" Naruto looked out towards the window and rubbed his chin. If Tsunade or Shizune were startled at all by Naruto's enthusiasm, or lack thereof, they hid it well. "At least she's competent, so it should work out okay. I'm surprised Hiashi-sama allowed it."

While Rin and Kushina had expressionless masks on for the majority of the meeting, since they didn't really know what Naruto's personality was like before... Tsunade and Shizune were having to get used to the changes that had happened to the young man in front of them. Shizune's face displayed a range of emotions, from surprise to worry. Tsunade was grinning, though it mostly appeared to be a grin of the smug sort.

"Hiashi-sama? Thats a first."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, and grinned back. "Well I would have called him an old bastard like I used to, but since he's willing to let me train Hanabi, I figured I should show some respect."

Now both Kushina and Rin were looking at Naruto with disbelieving expressions, while he merely chuckled and waved his hand in a placating manner. "So where is Hanabi-chan now?"

"She'll be ready to head back with you to Whirlpool when you leave. Anything else?"

"Ah... yeah. Is Ero-sennin still here?"

Tsunade shook her head. "No, he had a tip on Akatsu-" The Hokage stopped talking immediately and looked at Kushina. The redhead wasn't really paying attention at first, but as soon as Tsunade stopped talking, she gained the younger woman's full attention.

"Akat-what?"

Without saying anything, Tsunade turned to Naruto and quirked an eyebrow, silently asking if it was okay to continue.

Naruto sighed and folded his arms in front of him. This could get tricky. "I haven't said anything, because I didn't want to risk a relapse. Since you're here, though, it should be okay now. I hope."

Kushina was slowly moving forward, Rin had one hand on the womans arm. "What's going on?! Is there something you're not telling me?"

Tsunade sighed, looking down at her desk. She was puzzled by Naruto's use of the word 'relapse', though figured it would be a question best left for when Kushina explained her story. After a few seconds of silence, she looked up again. "Akatsuki is an organization bent on world domination. I know it sounds humorous at first, but their ranks are made up of very, very skilled S ranked missing nin. Itachi is a plant within this organization."

Kushina stopped, her back rigid. As Tsunade was talking, pieces were slowly falling into place. She had heard whispered rumors of this organization from other Uzumaki, and overheard some of Jiraiya's mumblings, but had never paid much attention to it before.

"From what we know of them, they started with ten members. Since we first learned of them, Orochimaru used to be a member of Akatsuki but has since departed. We are also aware of the deaths of at least three of their number, to which Konoha has been the driving force in their elimination."

"So how the hell do ten nukenin... or however many there are now... think they can possibly take over the world? Even if they are strong, ten of them against an entire ninja village would be suicide!"

Tsunade nodded slowly. "They have been capturing bijuu."

Kushina inhaled sharply, then turned a slightly fearful gaze on her son. He stared back, unflinching.

"The Kazekage, Gaara, was the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi."

Silence lingered for a moment. It was Rin who asked the next question. "What do you mean... 'was' the Jinchuuriki?"

Tsunade folded her hands together and leaned forward over her desk, staring Kushina straight in the eyes. "Earlier this year, Akatsuki successfully infiltrated the Sand Village, and captured their Kazekage after a lengthy battle. No more than a week later, they had successfully extracted the Ichibi from Gaara."

Kushina was shaking.

"It killed him."

It was plain to see the tears that were falling down Kushina's face. She started to say something, but choked back a sob instead. Everyone looked on solemnly while Kushina tried to compose herself.

"So this... Akatsuki..." Kushina swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, leaving messy streaks of saline on her cheeks, "They're after my son, too. Am I right?"

Tsunade nodded slowly. "So far, Naruto has proven to be a very difficult objective for them."

Kushina didn't respond, but slowly stumbled over to Naruto and wrapped her arms around his torso. He didn't hesitate in returning the gesture, trying his best to offer words of comfort as his mother shook in his arms.

A soft smile settled on Naruto's face as he thought about those events, months ago. "We did manage to save Gaara in the end... though one of the elders of Sand Village had to perform a life transfer technique to bring him back to life. As a result, he's still the Kazekage now, and one of my best friends."

Naruto felt his mother's head nod against his chest, but she didn't say anything and continued holding onto him. It didn't take long for Naruto to remember that there were others in the room, and noticing all the small smiles he was receiving caused a blush to quickly form on his face.

"You remind me of your father."

Kushina immediately went rigid in Naruto's arms, while Naruto merely looked at the Hokage in mild surprise. "What do you mean?"

Tsunade laughed a little. "Your mother always was very physical, even as a teenager. Your dad used to comfort her the same way."

Naruto wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he merely grinned and chuckled. Kushina, however, decided to turn slightly and glare at the Hokage with a mock pout, then finished it up by sticking her tongue out. The look of surprise on Tsunade's face caused Kushina to giggle before leaning back into Naruto's hug.

"I'm still a teenager at heart, Tsunade-sama."

"Anyway..." Tsunade grumbled as she moved some papers around on her desk, then leaned back in her chair, "I suggest you go show Rin and your mother around Konoha for a little while, Naruto. I have to get the council organized for the meeting, and that will probably take a few hours. I'll send ANBU for you when it's time. Expect the meeting to take place around dusk."

Naruto nodded to Tsunade and politely excused himself, much to the Hokage's surprise and small delight. Naruto had to half-guide, half-drag his mother out of the Hokage's office, he was fairly certain she wanted to hang back and talk to Tsunade some more, but there would be time for that later. He waited out in the small lobby as Rin said a few quiet words to the Hokage before closing the door behind her.

"Well, I know what can make everyone happy after that meeting."

Kushina raised an eyebrow, while Rin merely looked skeptical.

"Some good old Ichiraku Ramen!"

His mother grabbed onto his arm so fast it nearly knocked him over. "Did you say Ichiraku?! Is Teuchi still there?!"

Naruto laughed. "Yep! Teuchi-jiisan runs the stand, along with help from his daughter, Ayame."

Kushina squealed so loud in Naruto's ear, he thought his eardrum was going to burst. "Oh my gosh! I remember baby Ayame! I bet she's a knockout, if she looks anything like her mother!"

"Well, I guess..."

Kushina pulled away, frowning. "What do you mean, 'I guess.'? A woman likes to hear that she's good looking!"

Naruto waved his hands back and forth rapidly. "I-I didn't mean it like that! I told Teuchi-jiisan that she was cute, b-but I've never really looked at her like... like..." Naruto's eyes went back and forth between Rin and Kushina in a panic. He knew what he wanted to say, but no words could explain it the way he wanted to.

He was about to turn and run before both Rin and Kushina burst into laughter, causing him to frown.

"Silly Naruto-kun. I know what you mean. You just fell for the bait so easily." His mother latched onto his arm once again, giving him a big smile. Rin didn't say anything, but chose to reach up and ruffle his hair instead, causing Naruto to grumble at the recent turn of events.

"Tell you what. Why don't you show us some places around Konoha, and we'll try to stop by Ichiraku before the council meeting starts. I'd rather deal with politicians on a completely full stomach. Sound good?"

Naruto nodded. "Sounds good. For the first stop... there's someone I want you to meet."

Kushina grinned again. "Can't wait! Lets go!"

* * *

**A/N: **I know some of you are thinking, "Wow, Kushina got over her sadness quickly!". Not quite. There is a lot of information to get through, and next chapter will be big on Kushina x Naruto interaction. (Mother-Son relationship, you pervs. Yes, that means no 'wincest'.) It's also going to be the last chapter that concentrates on Naruto and Kushina, the rest of the story will shift away from their relationship after this and focus on Naruto x Sakura, and the growing conflict. Kushina will continue to make appearances, but it will be more of a background role.

That means next chapter will be the last 'slow' chapter, and from here on out there will be a lot of mini-timeskips of a month or three, focusing on big events that lead to the final bang and the end of Whirlpool Country. The fic is over halfway complete now, and if I had to guess, there is maybe another 10 chapters to go.

However, this story was originally only supposed to be 20 chapters, so who knows? My current outline wraps everything up by chapter 30, though... so we shall see.

Readers, thank you. Reviewers, thank you. Especially those of you who leave your feedback after every chapter I write. I cannot express how much I appreciate your loyalty to this story. I've gotten many questions as to 'How come this story is so good, but you have hardly any reviews?'. The only potential answer I can give is that I never really ask for reviews. Of course I appreciate them, I state as such, and I reply when I can if the answer wont give too much away. But I never ask for them, because I figure if someone really likes my work then they will let me know. I do get a lot of PM's, though, I don't know how many other authors get... but if every PM I got was a review, I'd probably have over 600 on this story instead of 450. This isn't me crying for more reviews - far from it. This is simply answering all the potential PM's asking about that in one shot. =P

Of course I can't forget the shout-out to my beta, Denim88.

Lastly, I went ahead and made this 'Chapter 21' instead of 'Chapter 20', because fanfic considers the interim chapter to be a full chapter, even if I didn't. Therefore at some point I will be going back and re-labelling the previous couple chapters. So no, you aren't missing anything.

Next: I was going to call it 'Memento' originally, but the next chapter of canon Naruto is titled that, so I'm not too sure I want to anymore. I might, but we'll see. As for now, it's still titled 'Memento'.


	22. Memory Lane

Chapter 22

After Naruto and his two companions had left the Hokage's office, Rin politely excused herself, saying there were a few things she wanted to check out, but promised to meet up with them again before they went to Ichiraku's. Naruto was about to protest - but Rin silenced him, stating that he needed to spend some time alone with his mother.

Mother and son watched as Rin waved at them over her shoulder, walking down one of the paths leading away from the Administration building.

"Well, I was hoping Rin would want to meet this person too, but I guess it will have to wait. Let's go to the Academy."

Naruto grabbed Kushina's hand and started dragging her along, she stumbled for a moment before managing to keep pace with her son. "Whoa! Easy there. Why are you in such a hurry, and why the Academy?"

"The person I want you to meet was the first person to really acknowledge who I was without being assigned to look over me, and he treated me just like every other kid. He works in the Academy, and classes are over soon, so I don't want to miss him."

Kushina nodded, but something was bugging her. "What do you mean he was the first to acknowledge you? You were supposed to be respected for the burden you were going to shoulder... so I don't understand."

"The road to hell is created from good intentions."

"W-What?!" Naruto looked to his side, to see his mother with a completely shocked look on her face. Her hand was gripping his so tightly that it was starting to hurt.

"Da-," Naruto hesitated before continuing, looking around to see if anyone was within hearing distance, "The Yondaime may have had the best of intentions, that I would be looked after and respected as a hero for holding the Kyuubi at bay."

Naruto looked up into the clear blue sky as he continued. "It didn't quite happen that way. The Yondaime created the road, but I had to walk on it. I can't really ask him anymore, but I'm sure the way I lived wasn't what he had in mind."

"What _did_ happen, then?" Kushina's voice was muffled. Glancing at her, Naruto saw that her head was hanging down, causing her hair to cover the sides of her face, so he couldn't see her expression.

"I'll explain later. This isn't the place. Besides, with people like Yuugao-chan, Iruka-sensei, and Sarutobi-jiji, it wasn't all bad."

His mother raised her head and nodded, but he didn't see her smile. Naruto knew he'd have to explain his childhood to her sooner or later, even though he didn't really want to. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't exactly good either.

They dodged a few children who were running around, several of them staring at Naruto curiously before continuing along. A few of the younger girls could be seen pointing at him and giggling to each other.

"It looks like you're popular with the little girls."

He didn't have to look at her face to know his mother was smiling now. He could hear it in her voice. "Well, thats probably because I'm holding hands with a good looking lady, and you know how it is with girls and gossip. They just don't know you're my mom."

Naruto turned his head slightly to look at her out of the corner of his eyes, and she was looking down again. He made a show of leaning over to see her face, only for Kushina to bring her other hand around and gently push his forehead away.

Naruto grinned. She was blushing.

It didn't take them long to get to the teachers offices. Most of them were shared among the faculty, at least seven or eight teachers sharing an office. Apparently Iruka had become more of a regular teacher, since he now only shared an office with one other person. The door had a note that the other person had been pulled back to active mission duty, so he currently had an office all to himself.

Naruto simply stood in the doorway for a moment, watching as his old teacher - and sometimes older brother figure - graded papers, completely unaware of the presence in the doorway.

"So how are your students, Iruka-sensei?"

The man jumped in his seat a little bit, the marker he was using made a big line across one of the papers. He turned his head to scowl slightly at Naruto, then shook his head and chuckled before standing up.

"Hey there Naruto, it's good to see you. I hope you aren't thinking you can show up while you're on a mission just so I can pay for a few bowls of ramen." Iruka was casually walking over to his old student with a small grin on his face.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Iruka-sensei. I'm here to report my mission progress to the council, but I've got some free time before they are ready. I want you to meet someone... and if you have some free time later, we can go get ramen, my treat.

Iruka laughed as he grabbed Naruto's hand in an offered handshake, "That's right, I'm pretty sure you make more money than I do now." His teacher proceeded to give him a once-over, just like Tsunade had done not too long before. "You're looking good, Naruto. I bet the ladies must be all over you now... unless, of course, you finally caught Sakura's eye."

Naruto blushed and scratched at his cheek. "Well... I sorta did."

Iruka gave his old student a big grin. "Well, it's about time. I'm happy for you."

Grinning now, the blond nodded for a second before his eyes went wide. "Oh, I already mentioned it, but there's someone I want you to meet."

One of Iruka's eyebrows arched. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Let me go get her." Naruto backtracked a few steps and looked down one side of the hallway. "We're ready!"

Moving back into the room, Naruto just gave his teacher a grin, then pivoted so he could look out the door and wait for the other person to enter.

Kushina entered the room a second later, and looked at Naruto. Her eyes roamed around the small office for a second before they settled on Iruka, and his rather surprised expression.

"N-Naruto? Who's this? I know you want me to meet her, but I thought you said that Sakura-"

Before he could finish, Naruto started laughing. Iruka scowled as he looked at the young man, only to notice that the attractive redhead now standing next to him was blushing slightly and grinning.

The grin was a very, very familiar one.

"Iruka-sensei, I know what you're thinking, but that's not it. I'd like you to meet my mom, Uzumaki Kushina."

Iruka's face went through a myriad of expressions, before settling on a tight smile. Without a word, he stepped forward and offered his hand to the woman, who returned the handshake. She did looked extremely apprehensive about the meeting though, and it became more evident when she spoke.

"Iruka-san... I wanted to thank you for helping my son through the Academy, and being a good teacher. He... Naruto says you were like an older brother for him at times... and I cannot express how much it means to me to know that you cared, even a little."

Some of the few more scalding comments Iruka had been thinking about saying immediately shriveled up and died when he looked at her and heard the way she was talking. It was extremely hard to fake genuine sorrow, and the woman in front of him was literally oozing sadness.

"It, uh, was no problem. Really. Naruto just needed some guidance when he was younger, and it was my job. I mean, yeah I did go out of my way sometimes - but Naruto was a good kid and it was worth it. Besides, we did have in common that we were both orphans-"

Iruka's mouth snapped shut, "I-I'm sorry, I just started going on a roll, and..."

Kushina waved him off as she gave him a sad smile. "No, no... I understand. I'm assuming you lost your parents in the Kyuubi attack?"

Iruka winced at the memory, but nodded.

"I see. I'm sorry."

Nothing was said for several moments afterward, and the two of them stood there shifting on their feet. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and started grumbling something, though neither of the other two could hear what he was saying.

"What are you saying, Naruto? I can't hear you."

Naruto looked at Iruka. "I was just saying that this gloomy mood wasn't what I had in mind when I wanted you to meet my mom. I guess I messed up."

Both of them expressed surprise, though Iruka's was more remorseful. "I didn't mean for it to get like this Naruto. I just wasn't expecting it, and I will admit that I was a little angry at first that she reappeared now... but I can't hold that against her. At least... not yet. I don't know what happened."

Kushina shrank back and hid herself a little behind Naruto, surprising Iruka. The teacher started to stammer out an apology, but Naruto shook his head. "It's okay. We've both talked about this, and my mom understands that the people who did care for me will probably be upset with her until they know the whole story."

Iruka waited for Naruto to continue, but Naruto turned around to comfort his mother instead. They exchanged a few mumbled words for a moment that Iruka couldn't really decipher - not that he was trying to pry - and Naruto eventually turned back to face him. Kushina had moved closer, and had both of her hands grabbing one of Naruto's forearms while she was half-hiding behind him.

If he didn't know that she was his mother, Iruka would have sworn they were dating, the way she held onto him.

"Baa-chan didn't tell me not to tell anyone about my mom, but I think the less I say before we meet with the council, the better it is."

Iruka nodded, agreeing. There wasn't exactly any formal procedure, but he figured that it would be better if the information came down through official channels, rather than being started as a rumor from someone who happened to overhear.

"I can tell you two things, though, that everyone will know sooner or later anyway. First, my mom wasn't around when I was little because of mental trauma she was put through. Some might even call it low level torture. Whatever it was, it was a genjutsu, and it put her under a lot of pain."

Iruka looked at the woman who was standing next to Naruto. She had her eyes closed and her forehead resting against her son's shoulder. After what Naruto said, he couldn't help but feel pity for the woman... and it also explained why she seemed to cling to her son. The sensation of touching him was likely the only cure for what she had endured... whatever it was.

"The second thing... my father was the Yondaime Hokage."

There was complete silence for several seconds, and it took about that long for Iruka's mind to start working again. "What?! Your father was Yondaime-sama?! Not that I doubt you, even I would have to be a fool to deny the resemblance, but why was it hidden?! You were supposed to be the hero of the village, not its pariah!"

Naruto inhaled sharply as his head quickly turned to look at his mother. It wasn't until Iruka noticed the downturn of her lips and tear streak on Kushina's face that he thought back to what he had said. "A-Ah... I'm sorry... I wasn't thinking..."

If Naruto heard, he didn't show it, as he had wrapped his mother in his arms and had his chin resting on the top of her head. She had wrapped her arms around his waist, and he appeared to be mumbling something, though once again Iruka couldn't understand it. The muffled sobs were not hard to miss, however.

He stood there and kept his mouth shut, believing he had said more than he should have already. He gradually shuffled back over to his desk, muttering apologies as he went, and started organizing the papers that he had left scattered about when Naruto showed up in the doorway moments ago.

"Iruka-sensei... sorry about that. She doesn't know much about my childhood yet."

"I see. I apologize."

Naruto shook his head and was going to say something, but Kushina moved up to Iruka, and bowed deeply in front of him, surprising the two males.

"T-Thank you, fo-for helping my son. If you'll e-excuse me..." She stood up straight and gave him a watery smile, then quickly walked from the room while rubbing at her eyes. Naruto was worriedly watching her the entire way, and looked at Iruka momentarily before leaving the room.

"We'll be at Ichiraku's later... if you want I can send you a toad to let you know when if you'd like to join us?"

Iruka considered it for all of two seconds, before shaking his head and offering Naruto a sad smile. "I think I've already done enough damage, Naruto. I appreciate the offer, but I also have a lot of extra work since the school is short on teachers. Thanks for stopping by, though. Congratulations, as well."

Naruto gave the older man a sad smile and a nod, then disappeared from the doorway.

Iruka sighed and sat back down in his chair once again. Leaning over his desk, he propped his elbows on the desktop, then placed his face in his hands. His big mouth had inadvertently ruined what could have been a nice meeting. A small part of him sighed with relief, however, because otherwise he probably would have stumbled over his words. He suddenly shivered at thoughts that casually assaulted him. Even though she was the mother of one of his old students, and she had a sad expression throughout their meeting, he couldn't help it.

Naruto's mom was hot. The Yondaime was a lucky man. He could only guess at how radiant she must look when in a good mood.

* * *

Naruto sighed to himself as he walked down the street towards his next destination. He had caught up with his mother near the exit of the Academy, and she looked completely miserable. Her tears had stopped, but she absolutely refused to talk, because her voice kept cracking. He did hear her keep muttering the word 'pariah' over and over, like a mantra, and decided he'd have to do his best to distract her from thinking about it.

She refused to talk to him, but walked behind him and placed both hands on his back, then started pushing him forward. Looking over his shoulder at her, she merely pointed in the direction he was walking, so he shrugged and kept walking forward down the road. Every once in a while during their journey, Naruto would look over his shoulder to make sure she was still there. She was, and was watching him very carefully - or not so much him, but more the way other people interacted with him.

To ease her mind, he tried to be as friendly as possible with the people he came across. It went without saying that he was rather infamous, not just because of what was sealed inside him. He was only 'popular' with most of the older generation because of that. Most of the shinobi and civilians around his age or a few years older knew him for his own feats as a shinobi of the leaf, while most younger than him knew him not only for those feats, but some of his legendary pranks as well.

As they passed a park, some of the children there recognized him, and ran over, asking if he could play ninja with them. He got down on one knee near them and gently explained that he was waiting to be called by Hokage-sama, and that she had given him an assignment, so he didn't have time to play. The sad faces pulled at his conscience, and he knew he'd probably never get the chance to make it up to them, but said that he'd play ninja with them if he ever got some free time.

That cheered most of them back up, and they went running back towards the nearby playground. He caught the eyes of a few of the parents as he stood back up, and most of them had something resembling a smile on their face. There were a few guarded expressions, but no frowns and nothing openly hostile. It was definitely progress.

"You know, if you wanted to play with them for a little while, I wouldn't mind."

Naruto turned to look at his mother as she walked closer to him. She had her arms crossed, and was watching the kids playing amongst themselves.

"I don't know exactly how much time we will have, so I'd rather spend it doing things with you. I don't know if I'll really be able to play with them later, but if I can find the time, I will."

Kushina looked at her son, giving him a small smile. "So... where to next?"

Naruto looked around from where they were standing. "Let's go over to the nearby training ground. I want to see how you did that technique of yours, plus I want to show you mine."

His mother agreed, and they walked towards the training area. The trip was quiet, but Kushina had finally decided to move up and walk next to Naruto, instead of following behind him. Apparently she had seen enough in regards to how the other villagers interacted with him.

They were most of the way there when they passed another spot that was familiar to Naruto. It was one of the places where he could always find Kakashi if the man was late, and there was currently someone else standing there, which caused him to do a double-take.

Recognizing the cloak the person was wearing after a few seconds of inspection, Naruto gently nudged his mother and pointed over towards where the person was standing. Kushina nodded and fell in behind him as they approached the person. As they got closer, Naruto could hear a distinct scratching noise.

"Rin?"

The person's shoulders went rigid for a second, then her head turned as one of her hands pulled back the hood from her face. Her eyes showed recognition when they rested on Naruto, then Kushina, and she pulled the hood back all the way.

"Hey, Naruto, Kushina. I heard about the Memorial Stone, and I wanted to take a look at it for myself."

Kushina walked around Naruto and approached the stone. "Memorial Stone? For what?"

Rin didn't answer, but instead looked at Naruto. He noticed, and walked up towards the stone as he began explaining.

"The stone was put up as a memorial to those who gave their life in service to Konoha since the beginning of the Third War."

Kushina was standing up close to the Memorial, fingers dragging over the names inscribed on the stone. "I recognize some of these names..."

Her voice trailed off as her fingers stopped moving. Naruto looked over, to see what name her fingers were resting on, and when he read the beginning of it, his eyes widened.

Namikaze Minato.

He leaned back again, and rested his hand on his mother's shoulder, letting her know that he was there. Kushina didn't say anything else, but she wasn't shaking or trembling or anything, which had Naruto a little worried, even if he wasn't about to say anything.

Naruto turned to look at Rin just in time to see her move to another side of the stone, and start scratching away at it with a kunai.

"Rin?! What are you doing?"

Rin looked at Naruto with a nonchalant expression, and shrugged, before resuming what she was doing. "I'm scratching off my last name from the Memorial. It doesn't belong."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say to that, Rin had never told him what her surname was. He looked at his mother, who merely returned his look for a moment before closing her eyes and shaking her head. Figuring it best to let Rin do what she wanted, he stepped back from the Monument.

"We're almost at the training area if you want to keep going."

Kushina cast one last glance at the monument, then nodded and fell into step next to Naruto once again.

"Oh, are you two going to show your techniques?" Rin had stopped scratching at the monument, apparently she had managed to finish her task in a relatively quick manner. Considering that she was skilled at using the wind element, Naruto found he wasn't as surprised as he might have been otherwise.

"Yes. It shouldn't take long, besides, I'm getting really hungry. We haven't eaten yet at all today." Kushina rubbed her stomach and closed her eyes as she said this, almost as if she could smell and taste the ramen without even needing to be nearby.

Naruto chuckled as he looked at her, nodding vigorously in agreement. Rin smiled, watching the duo as she moved over to walk on the other side of Naruto. They were already near the training ground that Naruto had wanted to use, so it didn't take more than a minute for them to arrive. As they passed some rather familiar poles, Naruto pointed over in their direction, causing Kushina and Rin to look.

"I was tied to that pole in the middle, for our Genin test."

Kushina laughed outright as they continued walking towards the nearby pond. "Your father was tied up there as well, though I don't know if it was that exact pole. From what I remember hearing, ero-sennin was tied up by the Sandaime Hokage too."

"Whoa, really?! I didn't know that!"

Kushina nodded, grinning as she turned her head to look at her son. "Yep! Seems like a tradition, doesn't it? The great one always gets tied up!"

Naruto chuckled at that, then turned his head to look at Rin. The grin dropped from his face when he saw the somewhat perturbed look on her face. "Hey, uhm... Rin? Did Kakashi-sensei ever get tied to the pole?"

Rin looked back at Naruto, her face now looking rather solemn, and slowly shook her head to the negative. "No... our third teammate, Uchiha Obito... was the one tied to the pole. Kakashi was too much a stickler for the rules and had the personality of a stick in the mud back then. Not to mention he was an acclaimed prodigy." There was no emotion in Rin's voice, it was as if she was giving a lecture, her voice was completely neutral. "The great ones were always tied to the pole... I wonder what would have happened if Obito lived..."

Naruto looked up to the sky, unsure of what to say. The sun was starting its descent in the mostly cloudless sky. Rin's voice had trailed off, but she didn't seem to be unwilling to talk about her old team, and Naruto had always been curious. "Kakashi-sensei never really talked about his team, and always deflected the questions about it. Yuugao-chan has mentioned to me that she has heard Kakashi-sensei talking to someone named Obito at the Memorial Stone before. Supposedly, thats why he was always late to our team meetings."

Rin looked at Naruto, eyes wide for a moment, before she frowned and looked away slowly. If she was going to say anything, she didn't, but they had arrived at the pond by then. Kushina had since crouched down, her hand feeling the cool water.

"I guess since my technique is probably the simplest, I'll explain what it does and show you first, okay?" She looked to Naruto for confirmation, who nodded and gave her a small smile.

Taking a deep breath, Kushina quickly went through a series of hand signs, and the moment she finished, a small stream of water stretched up from the pond and started circling around her. "I can do this technique with water in the air, but it takes a lot more chakra to do that. If I have a water source nearby, it gets a lot easier." Another series of hand signs, and the trail of water around her flattened, the ripples in it showing that it was starting to rotate around her as well.

"The technique itself lets me form needles of water that pierce the skin of my opponent, injecting water into their bloodstream. This thins the blood to a great degree, and can kill a person if a lot is injected. That's what I did to those bandits we fought before. Depending on how much I inject determines how fast the person dies, so I tried to be merciful to those bandits and gave them quite a lot."

Naruto frowned but nodded, remembering the pinprick red splotches that dotted the clothing of a lot of the bandits when he first arrived on the scene. Apparently their blood was too thin to clot as well, so if the abnormally-thinned blood didn't kill them, the overall blood loss would.

Kushina continued, "The water needles can't pierce metal, however... and even flak jackets like the one Konoha shinobi use can't be pierced easily. So it's not perfect. If someone is armored, my best hope is to use it defensively, when attacked I could find an opening. But I find it best used as a long range assassination technique. Thats about it."

She released the technique, and the water splashed down into the grass at her feet. Without wasting any time, she gave her son a big grin. "So that's mine! Now what were you saying about 'completing' the Rasengan?"

Chuckling at his mother and her apparent disbelief, he summoned two Kage Bunshin. "Since you know how to do the Rasengan, I'm sure you remember all the basics behind how to create one?"

Kushina slowly nodded at her son, but turned to Rin. "Basically, Rasengan uses pure chakra spinning quickly to produce a very destructive effect."

It was Rin's turn to nod, she looked back and forth between the two Uzumakis. "Sensei explained that much. Something about it being the ultimate form of spatial recomposition. Typical ninjutsu are just a form of elemental recomposition, using chakra imbued with an element to take form, while Rasengan just uses pure chakra and gives it a form."

"Exactly." Naruto smiled as one of his Kage Bunshin helped him to create a rather large Rasengan spinning in his hand, causing both Kushina and Rin to look at him with wide eyes – the most likely cause being that the Rasengan Naruto was holding was likely larger than any they had seen before. "The more chakra placed into the technique, the harder it is to maintain control of. I've always had so much chakra that I had a hard time even forming the Rasengan at first. I had plenty of chakra to give to the technique, but no matter how hard I concentrated, I couldn't make it spin while sustaining the power. However, once its made, since I no longer have to feed it any chakra, I have no trouble maintaining the rotation."

"That is... quite a large Rasengan you have there." Naruto chuckled at Rin's comment, and even Kushina tossed her a grin.

"It was Kakashi-sensei who gave me the idea how to go to the next step. I don't know if Dad ever confided in him about knowing there was still another step, but sensei understood, and helped me find the answer. There is no elemental chakra in the Rasengan now."

"Elemental recomposition? But to use elemental and spatial recomposition at the same time in a move like that?" Rin's eyes were open wide, fully aware of what adding elemental chakra could do to the move. Kushina was rubbing her chin with her hand, gazing thoughtfully at the Rasengan that Naruto was holding.

Nodding at Rin's comment, both Kage Bunshin moved over to Naruto this time, and placed their hands to hover above the Rasengan. "I complained that trying to use pure chakra for the power, then trying to make the chakra move, plus adding elemental chakra on top of that... it was like trying to look in several directions at the same time. Kakashi-sensei told me later that he was only joking when he did it, but he made his own Kage Bunshin to look in two directions at the same time. It gave me the idea to just use a third clone for the technique."

At this point, the Rasengan in Naruto's hand started turning a bright gray in his hand, compared to the multicolored blue that it was before. It was also letting out a wild screeching noise, and something resembling a blade that was spinning so rapidly around the outside of the Rasengan - it was leaving after-images. Rin and Kushina both had their mouths agape, looking at the monstrous technique in Naruto's hand, and barely registered that the wind around them had picked up slightly.

"I call this the Rasenshuriken, a completed Rasengan with wind elemental chakra put in it. From what Kakashi-sensei and baa-chan tell me, it works similar to how your water needles work, mom. The Rasengan smashes against them, then the wind chakra breaks off from it, and severs nerves. Even if they somehow survive it, they won't be able to move." That said, Naruto quickly lifted his hand up, tossing the Rasenshuriken into the air. It dissipated almost immediately since it was no longer being controlled, and a strong gust of wind caused both Rin and Kushina to take a step back to brace themselves. "I can make a Fuuton Rasengan as well, if I use elemental chakra to make the Rasengan, instead of pure chakra."

"That was... was... definitely impressive. I've never seen anything that strong. The amount of chakra alone that I sensed..." Rin trailed off, looking in Kushina's direction. But the other woman wasn't looking at her, or Naruto... she had her hand stretched out, and was looking at it. "Kushina?"

There was silence for a moment before the redhead replied. "I wonder... I was better at ninjutsu than Minato, but he always had more chakra than me. I wonder now... if perhaps..."

Instead of saying anything more, Kushina made the hand sign that Naruto was very familiar with, and an exact duplicate appeared next to her. Almost immediately, both of them leaned over, hands on their legs just above their knees. Rin and Naruto moved to help, but the original Kushina held her hand up, holding them back.

"I almost forgot... this technique can be tricky to use, since it divides chakra evenly. Quite dangerous and draining, I just need a moment to adjust."

"Mom, if you're going to try what I'm thinking, I don't-"

"I probably am doing what you're thinking, and I don't expect it to work, but I've got to try." Kushina interrupted what Naruto was saying, fully knowing he would try to dissuade her. It didn't take her long to create a regular Rasengan in her hand, before her clone walked over and placed it's hands over on top. This was going to be tricky.

"I used to make fun of Minato, because he always said he believed it could go further, but I didn't think so. I was always better than him in ninjutsu, but not even I could take it any further. I didn't think about using a Kage Bunshin back then, though. Now, however..." Kushina's eyebrows scrunched together as she concentrated on holding her Rasengan together while her clone tried to add her water element to it. The Rasengan started becoming a darker blue, and it appeared as if water was starting to cover it.

Naruto watched in morbid fascination as the Rasengan changed color and shape, it started becoming more oblong, compared to the perfect circle it was before. The air around them became distinctly more humid, and a roaring sound was getting louder, as if one was standing near a cave that was on a beach while listening to the echoing crashing of waves.

The old Rasengan was a very dark blue now, and Naruto was about to ask how much further Kushina had to go before she felt it was complete. But before he could say anything, his mother's clone popped out of existence, and she let out a small cry.

The Rasengan in her hand appeared as if it would dissipate, because it shrank in size, but before it did the water that was covering it was thrown off. Naruto wasn't expecting anything from it, but the little bit of water that did hit him flung him off his feet and backwards a couple meters. He landed on his back after letting out a yell of surprise. Sitting up quickly and looking around, he saw that the same thing had happened to both Rin and his mother. Rin was a few meters further back than he was, and was sitting up, but she appeared to be slightly dazed. Kushina, however, was still lying on the ground in the other direction, one arm resting across her eyes and breathing heavily.

"Mom!" Naruto scrambled to his feet and jogged over to her, then got down on one knee when he arrived where she was lying. She moved her arm away from her eyes, and gave him a small smile. Her left eye was closed shut and she was breathing heavily.

"I'm okay... I was just surprised. It didn't really hurt... it was more like I got pushed... backwards really hard..." She tried to talk between gasps for breath. Slowly placing her forearms on the ground to each side of her body, she started pushing her torso upwards so she could sit up. Naruto caught on to what she was doing and helped her to lean forward. As she sat up and looked at the surroundings, Rin had managed to snap from her daze and was slowly walking over.

"I'm sorry about that, you two. I had no idea what would happen, but I wanted to try."

Rin and Naruto both nodded, the former squatting down to their level. "It's fine. It doesn't look like anyone was injured, only surprised and caught off guard. I wasn't expecting a few drops of water to throw me backwards. When I saw Naruto get knocked back, I braced myself slightly, but was still caught unawares. Though I think I was pushed to the ground more than I was thrown back."

Kushina looked up at Naruto, who was surveying their surroundings. They were far enough away from anything else, including trees, so nothing seemed to have been damaged.

"How did you manage to pull off your Rasenshuriken? You must have been training for a long time."

Naruto's attention snapped back to his mother, and he shook his head. "About three days of steady training, actually, but I cheated."

"Kage Bunshin?"

Naruto's gaze traveled to Rin, and he grinned at her. "Yeah. I've never really shown you guys just how many I can make, you've probably never seen me make more than fifteen or twenty at a time."

Kushina let out a loud sigh. "So what, you used about thirty or forty of them to speed up the training then?"

"Closer to a hundred."

Both Rin and Kushina looked at him, mouths agape, but neither said anything.

"I can make a lot more than that, but if I make more, the mental feedback is too great. It makes me pass out. I had to release the ones I had after an hour, two at the most, and it would knock me unconscious for five to ten minutes at a time. Any longer than that... and I would probably risk falling into a coma. My learning Rasenshuriken was urgent, so we couldn't really risk that during my training."

"Urgent? Why would it be urgent to learn something like that?! I think it was reckless." Kushina was clearly agitated, and it didn't seem as if Rin was faring much better.

"Because I managed to kill a member of Akatsuki with it, so it was worth it."

Kushina's eyes went wide once again, then she immediately adopted a somber expression and looked down at her hands in her lap. Rin was looking at Naruto with something more akin to respect with a bit of pity thrown in. Being one of Jiraiya's spies for so long, she undoubtedly knew what Akatsuki was.

Any further musings on the subject were interrupted by a large growl from Kushina. Naruto looked down at her once again, only to see her holding her stomach and looking embarrassed. A light laugh from Rin caused Naruto to grin down at his mother.

"I guess trying that out made you really hungry, huh?"

Kushina didn't reply, but meekly nodded her head affirmatively.

Laughing outright, Naruto and Rin each offered the woman a hand. "Come on, lets go get some ramen. Ichiraku's awaits!"

* * *

"I don't mean to break your concentration, but I was going to let you know that lunch is being served in the mess hall, if you're interested."

Karin slowly opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder to address the person behind her. She knew that she was being approached, considering she was doing the exercises to expand her senses that Kushina-sama had shown her. "It's fine, I could sense your approach. Thank you for letting me know..." Karin let her voice trail off, she wanted to thank the other girl, but didn't know her name.

The girl realized this, and stuttered out a reply, "A-Ah! Haruno Sakura. I'm sorry, I know we met unofficially last night, but you didn't hear my name then, and I've been really busy since Naruto left this morning."

"Well thank you, Sakura-san. I can imagine what it must be like to be the deputy of this place." Karin slowly climbed to her feet from where she had been sitting, then moved over to where Sakura was standing and offered her hand. "You probably remember from last night, but as a reminder just in case, I'm Uzumaki Karin. Nice to meet you, officially anyway."

Sakura gave the other girl a grin as she accepted the handshake. "Likewise. How do you like it here so far? I mean, I know it hasn't been more than a day yet, but I wasn't sure if you needed anything."

Karin shrugged as she settled into step next to Sakura. "It's definitely livelier here than where I come from. I never really talked to anyone else there, Orochimaru-sama liked to keep people separated. The only other person I could really talk to didn't like to talk back, so I kept to myself most of the time. It was boring, but at least I had enough work to do to keep me occupied."

Sakura was looking up towards the sky as they walked, but was listening carefully. "Did you like working with... Orochimaru?" Sakura had a hard time saying the man's name without it coming out spitefully.

Karin sighed lightly before she replied. "I know that Konoha doesn't like Orochimaru-sama at all. But like I told Naruto-taichou, the man gave me everything I needed and only asked for my loyalty and cooperation. So I have nothing to complain about."

It was Sakura's turn to sigh. "I understand. If I was in your situation I would probably feel the same way. I just can't forgive him because he took my teammate away from me, and that was only because he wants his eyes."

Karin's eyebrows lifted a little as she looked at the other girl. The expression on Sakura's face was sour, but looked more sad than angry.

"Are you talking about Sasuke?"

Sakura stopped walking and stared at Karin with wide eyes. "You know Sasuke-kun? Uchiha Sasuke?!"

Karin's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, I know him. Sasuke-_kun_?" She purposefully stressed the 'kun' in her reply, asking another question in itself.

The pink-haired girl just blinked for a moment, then shook her head. "Sasuke was my teammate, years ago. It's been so long since I've said his name... it's now more of a habit than anything else."

Nodding slowly, Karin pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, then folded her arms under her chest. "I see. That means he, you, and Naruto-taichou were all on the same team."

This time, Sakura's eyes narrowed. "How did you know we were all on a team?"

The redhead shrugged and looked away towards a nearby building, looking at other people as they entered. "When Sasuke dropped me off here, he and Naruto exchanged words and they told me their situation. Then he left again to go do whatever it is that Sasuke does."

When she didn't get a reply from the other girl, Karin looked back to see Sakura's face had gone pale and her mouth was slightly agape. "Sakura-san? What's your problem?"

"Wh-wha? I... I just can't believe that Sasuke was here... and Naruto didn't tell me." Sakura closed her eyes and moved a hand up to rub her forehead.

"So what? Sasuke told Naruto he'd be coming back to get me later, so thats probably why he didn't bother."

Sakura's eyes went wide again. "He's coming back? Really?" Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and she looked at Karin sharply. "Wait, if he's coming back... you're not going to be staying, are you?"

Once again, Karin shrugged. "I honestly don't know, Sakura-san. Naruto-taichou and Kushina-sama know the details of my staying here, beyond that, even I don't know what they might be planning. For now though, I'm staying here indefinitely."

Sighing heavily, Sakura nodded and started walking again, Karin readily falling into step beside her. "I still can't believe he didn't say anything, I thought bringing Sasuke home was important for him."

"Well, they did talk about that, and I recall Naruto-taichou telling Sasuke that he had a change in priorities, but that bringing him home was still on his to-do list. Beyond that, I don't know anything. As far as not telling you... I don't know how much you two talked before he left to report to Konoha, but I wasn't here for more than a dozen hours before he left. I'm sure he had a lot on his mind."

Sakura hummed to herself for a few seconds, blushing lightly as she recalled their brief encounter last night, but quickly composed herself and nodded. "You're right, there's been a lot going on. I'll talk to him when he gets back. Sorry about how I acted."

Karin gave Sakura a little smile. "It's fine. So long as you aren't vying for his attention, we're friends." Karin made a small pose, pumping her fist into the air, and an evil smile on her face. "Sasuke-kun is mine! Ha ha!"

Sakura was only slightly surprised to find she wasn't the least bit jealous. However, the likely cause for that was because of how absolutely ridiculous Karin looked when she held that pose. It didn't take long for the redhead to come to her senses.

"I can't believe I just did that in front of you."

"For love... we all do a lot of things we can't believe sometimes."

"That sounds as if it comes from experience."

Sakura glanced at Karin with a sad look. "Ask Sasuke about it, sometime. See if he gives you an answer."

Not liking the sudden drop in the mood, Karin cringed a little. "I... guess I will."

"If you're lucky, you won't get burned like I did."

Karin frowned, realizing there was probably a lot of history between Sakura and her team that she obviously was not privy to, and Sakura didn't seem inclined to elaborate further. The best plan was probably to change the subject for now, and inquire with Naruto-taichou later. He seemed friendly, and it helped that they were related. He seemed rather open regarding Sasuke when they were both near her last evening. "At least you have Naruto-taichou now, right? It's not too hard to see how he looks at you. I could pick it up, and I wasn't even around both of you for very long last night."

Sakura blushed a little, and felt a smile return to her face. "Right."

* * *

Naruto set his latest bowl of ramen to the side, smiling to himself as he watched and listened his mother and Ichiraku Teuchi chat away animatedly. The poor man didn't know what to say when he first saw her again, then spent a good few minutes in tears. Ayame was worried for her father, but he claimed they were tears of joy, and introduced Kushina to her. Kushina was all over Ayame after that, pampering her with words about how she was an excellent daughter to help her father with the best stand on the planet, and how she was every bit as beautiful as her mother ever was.

Rin had since excused herself to go acquire lodging for them for the night, and Naruto was fine with watching the two Ichiraku's and his mother get along splendidly. Suddenly, however, he was overcome by a rapid series of sneezes. The other three looked at him with concerned faces.

Ayame took the couple steps over to him while still behind the counter. "Are you okay, Naruto-kun? I don't think I've ever heard you sneeze like that before."

He couldn't say anything before he felt his mother gently pat him on the back and speak up, "I bet it's his girlfriend talking about how much she loves him to everyone else back at the outpost."

Ayame squealed so loud that Naruto thought she was Ino for a moment, then leaned over the counter, getting right in his face. "Who is it?! Is it Sakura-chan?! Ohhhh that's so cute!"

Naruto blushed and leaned back on his stool, listening to Kushina start going on about how wonderful Sakura was, and what an excellent couple they made, while Ayame and Teuchi both pressed her for details.

So this was what having a mother was like. Naruto couldn't keep a small smile from creeping onto his face.

It was nice.

* * *

**A/N:** So... it's been a while. Bet you all thought I abandoned this thing, didn't ya? Well, things were iffy for a little while, I'll admit. I've been completely overwhelmed at work and had no idea when it would let up. But it finally did! Many months later. Many apologies to my loyal fans.

I'll do my best to keep the updates coming steadily once again, but this doesn't pay the bills, while my job does. So... priorities, ya know? Anyway, hope you guys can pick right back up where it left off... if not, I apologize. I'm going back and editing old chapters still as well, my good ol' beta Denim88 is looking them over as I fix 'em up. You'll know its an edited and fixed chapter if it has a title.

Up Next: Questions and Answers


	23. Questions and Answers

Chapter 23

"Please recite your name, rank, and designation for the record."

"Uzumaki Naruto. Tokubetsu Jounin. A Class."

"Thank you. You may be seated for a moment while I explain the overall synopsis to the general assembly."

Nodding, Naruto turned away from the podium and returned to his seat. He was vaguely aware of the speaker going over the basic details of his assignment, and took a moment to look around the room. Kushina, Rin, and himself had arrived in the council hall alongside Tsunade and Shizune approximately a half an hour ago, once they had been summoned by ANBU. There were a few council members who had already been seated, but they had arrived before a large majority of others. Kushina had fun watching the expressions of some of the people who entered the hall that recognized her. A few of the more well known clan heads, such as Inuzuka Tsume and Yamanaka Inoichi, made a point to come over to the table and greet her, even though they understood they wouldn't hear anything about her circumstances until the meeting began, and any detailed explanations would have to wait until after.

Naruto was pensive at first, he didn't know what kind of reception he'd get among most of the council. While none ever treated him with open hostility in the past, Sarutobi Hiruzen was rather strict when matters needed to be handled regarding the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. If anyone so much as looked at Naruto the wrong way while in his presence, the Sandaime wasn't afraid to take whatever action necessary to nip any potential problems in the bud. He hadn't been in a council meeting since the Third had passed away - though even then his participation in any meetings was hardly required - and wasn't sure if any of the long-serving council members might perhaps hold a grudge.

As the room filled, however, Naruto gradually began to relax. There were a handful of instances of any attempt of a greeting being ignored outright, but for the most part, all the council members treated him amicably. A few were even much more friendly than he ever would have anticipated, coming up to him and making a point to introduce themselves. While he had never been one for fancy words or playing around in political arenas, he picked up enough in his travels with Jiraiya to make it by relatively unscathed.

He did a good enough job that both Tsunade and Homura made a point to tell him they were impressed with how he handled himself. Koharu didn't say anything, but settled for a nod.

The council hall filled up rapidly, so he didn't spend more than a couple minutes chatting with any one person. He was actually quite surprised with the number of people that showed up for this meeting. There weren't any empty seats visible, some people were even standing up against the walls. There couldn't be more council members than there were seats, so that meant there were plenty of spectators from the various clans who were allowed in.

Either that, or word about his mother somehow managed to travel quickly. Tsunade's voice brought his thoughts back around to the current situation.

"... will go ahead and get this meeting started. Naruto, if you would be so kind as to give the assembly a brief description of the situation at the outpost so far?"

Naruto nodded at the Hokage, then stood up from his seat and wandered over to the podium. As he wandered by the table Tsunade and her aides were sitting at, Koharu informed him that he should remain at the podium and offer to answer any questions that anyone may have.

Upon reaching the podium, Naruto looked over at the gathered audience. Even though he had never addressed a group this large in such a formal setting before, he found himself to be strangely calm. Putting any thoughts of nervousness out of his mind, he opened up the notes his mother gave him. She had compiled a lot of information from various sources within the paperwork he had brought back to Konoha. He was surprised she thought to do it for him at first, and stated as much, but she laughed it off and reminded him who his father was. That shut him up quickly enough, and he accepted the notes gratefully.

Clearing his throat, Naruto leaned forward towards a piece of wood that had a seal inscribed on it. When his voice hit the seal, it carried his voice to other seals in the room that repeated everything he said, so that he could be heard from everywhere in the room.

"I will start my report by saying that the Whirlpool Outpost has its basic buildings completely constructed after a period of sixty-two days. The medical building was constructed by day nineteen, the barracks and mess hall were constructed by day forty-one, and the administration building was done by day sixty-two. In addition to those buildings, one small storage warehouse was completed, as well as a greenhouse. Power supply is still limited to backup generators, as the main generator is still under construction. It is estimated that the electricity conducting seal array will be completed within the next week.

"The old Whirlpool Village itself is still in shambles, though a few members of the outpost have expressed interest in clearing the land and some of the destroyed buildings to rebuild the village. I have not officially authorized any reconstruction efforts, because it was not part of my orders, but I have not hindered any efforts to resurrect the village either as long as it did not interfere with Outpost operations.

"The population of the Outpost is currently at seventy-four people. None of the residents are below the age of fourteen. Of everyone present, twelve are shinobi or kunoichi, eight are trained medical personnel, and the remaining fifty-two are classified as civilians, though five of them have rudimentary shinobi training. I was going to seek permission today to re-train them to handle any potential low classed missions."

Naruto went over a few more statistics, including how much money they had used and how many missions they had managed to complete, and informed the council of the Outpost's planning for the next three months. There were still a few buildings remaining that would be helpful with the day-to-day operations, and a defensive wall would be helpful to have as well. They hadn't had anyone approach their location either, at least not that Naruto was aware of, other than Sasuke. But he kept that bit of information to himself. Tsunade already knew about it, and that was enough for now. No need to start a panic. When he finished his report, he did as Koharu suggested, and opened the floor to questions.

It didn't take long for the noise level in the council hall to increase, as apparently everyone had a question. The banging of Tsunade's gavel on her desk managed to quiet everyone down almost immediately. She promptly reminded everyone to follow standard protocol, and Naruto watched as many groups of people started conversing amongst themselves in hurried whispers. Not long after that, the first person stood up and approached the podium, though remained a respectful distance away. While all clans present had a person who represented their opinions in votes – the leader of the clan – civilian clans and families typically had a person to speak and represent their interests to the council.

"Ah, yes... good evening, Uzumaki-san. I represent the Shiwara family. As you may or may not know, we are a respected merchant family that deals mainly in clothing goods. We were curious for your opinion on our family potentially opening up a small store nearby once the Outpost is finished?"

Naruto blinked a few times, caught off guard. He wasn't mentally prepared to answer questions that didn't pertain to shinobi-related activities. Turning his head, he glanced at the Hokage and raised his eyebrow at her, wondering if he had to deal with questions like this as well. Regardless if Tsunade understood him or not, she gave a faint smile and a nod, signaling for him to answer.

Scratching his cheek and thinking quickly, Naruto turned back to face the Shiwara family representative. The young man was watching him intently, most likely anticipating a good response. There were obviously no stores near the Outpost right now, and the nearest village to their location was a half an hour away for a shinobi. For a normal civilian, the trip would take twice as long.

"Well, like I said before, I haven't given permission to do any construction outside of the Outpost, as construction of the Outpost were my orders and takes priority over everything else. However, I haven't stopped any interest as long as it doesn't cause any delays. Uhm..." Naruto paused and closed his eyes, thinking again. His hand moved from his cheek to the back of his neck, and he started scratching there distractedly.

"If you want to send out a representative to take a look at the area, I have no problem with that. A lot of the civilians are from the area, and I don't think they'd mind having a few nice places to shop at, eventually. We've been growing faster than I-"

"What do you mean civilians from the area, Naruto?"

Naruto turned to look at the Hokage once again. She and both of her advisors had puzzled looks on their faces.

"Ah, sorry... I was going to mention it once this round of questions was over, since it doesn't really have anything to do with the Outpost itself. The Uzumaki clan has returned, and is helping with the construction efforts."

That comment caused Tsunade's wide-eyed stare to shift to Kushina, who grinned and nodded. It didn't take long after Naruto's mention of the return of the Uzumakis unanticipated return to cause the murmurs to start building up once again. Naruto watched as Homura and Koharu leaned in to speak a few words to Tsunade before she started to bang the gavel, silencing everyone once more.

"I apologize for interrupting, Shiwara-san, but this is an unexpected matter of rather large importance. Naruto, what is the status of the Uzumaki clan? As our allies in the past, I think it goes without saying that we have a vested interest in making sure they get the things they need to rebuild their home."

The young Jounin looked towards his mother out of the corner of his eyes to see if she wanted to offer any input, but the redhead was currently looking at her folded hands on the table in front of her. From what his uncle told him, not all of them would appreciate anything more from Konoha, reconstruction assistance or otherwise. He took a deep breath before turning slightly to address the Hokage.

"At this time, Hokage-sama, there is barely a handful of Uzumaki left alive. As of now they are still happy to have found each other again after so long apart. Most of them seem to tolerate the presence of Konoha shinobi and civilians right now, and they appreciate our help. But it isn't hard to notice that several of them are still wary about Konoha in general."

"Do you think they will accept assistance if offered?" Koharu leaned over the table, staring at Naruto intently. The blond shook his head negatively.

"Not right now. Maybe later, but I get the feeling that they want to establish themselves in their old home once again before they accept any kind of help... from anyone."

The entire council room was completely silent for several seconds as Tsunade merely stared at Naruto. Finally she folded her hands together in front of her face, elbows propped up on the table in front of her, and let out a sigh.

"I see. We will return to this avenue of discussion at a later time, perhaps. Shiwara-san, you may continue with your questions from earlier, but everyone is to avoid specific inquiries about the Uzumaki clan. Proceed."

"Ah, yes... thank you, Hokage-sama. Now, as I was asking previously, Uzumaki-san..."

* * *

Sakura ran her hands back through her pink hair, letting out a deep sigh as she looked at the paperwork on her desk. While Naruto had done her a big favor and done nearly all of the paperwork that needed doing before he left to go deliver his report, it didn't help her if she couldn't read his handwriting. It wasn't horrible, but sometimes it took a while for her to figure out what he wrote. Trying to interpret his handwriting wasn't the only thing that was frustrating her, she had to admit to herself. The fact that Naruto didn't tell her about Sasuke being at the outpost just the other day really got on her nerves, but she was having trouble identifying exactly why. Sasuke was her friend... both of their friends... but for some reason Naruto decided not to tell her about it. Was he afraid that she might think more about Sasuke than about him while he was gone? She didn't want to believe it was about his promise to her years ago, she didn't expect him to dwell on that anymore. But it was Naruto, after all.

She was just about to let out a growl of irritation when there was a light knock on her office door, causing her anger to almost immediately dissipate. Looking outside, she noticed that the sun was barely starting to throw its hue on the horizon... no one should be reporting for work yet.

"Sakura-san? Are you in?"

The voice was muffled and soft enough that Sakura couldn't figure out who it was. "Yes, I'm here. Come in." She shuffled some of the papers around on her desk, trying to organize it a little - just in case it was Ino. She didn't need her friend blabbing about her similarities to the Hokage.

To her surprise, it was a girl with red hair who entered her office. Sakura smiled and was about to greet the girl, they got along splendidly yesterday, but the smile dropped the moment she noticed the serious look on Karin's face.

"What's wrong?"

Karin closed her eyes and sighed briefly before opening them again and staring at Sakura. "Sasuke-kun is here. He is requesting to meet the person in charge, since Naruto-taichou isn't here. I didn't tell him it's you, just in case..." Karin's voice trailed off, but Sakura believed she understood what the girl was getting at. She couldn't help but respect Karin for considering her feelings on the matter, even if the redhead was only trying to keep Sakura away to further her own gains.

"It's fine. I'll just go see what he wants, thats all." Sakura got up from behind her desk, and walked towards the exit. She noticed the pensive look on Karin's face as she approached, but decided not to comment. As the door closed behind her, she nodded for Karin to lead the way, and they headed for the exit.

The walk was short, but it felt longer than it really was. Sakura wanted to strike up some kind of conversation with the girl walking next to her, but got the impression anything she could say at this moment would seem too trite to really bother. They had already had a large discussion about Sasuke yesterday evening while they ate dinner. As they passed through the building exit, Sakura's eyes immediately fell upon a familiar figure she had seen several months ago... and one next to him that she didn't recognize at all. The one she didn't recognize was talking animatedly to Sasuke, who didn't appear to be responding at all... and simply watched her as she and Karin approached them.

"... so anyway, then I saw what he was really after, and.... whoa... well hello there, what do we have here?"

Sakura squinted and frowned at the person standing next to Sasuke. He had white hair which was cut short, similar to her own, but hers was slightly longer. He also seemed to hold some unhealthy fascination with the color purple, based on his current clothing. It vaguely reminded her of Naruto's affection for the color orange. Another thing that caught her notice was his teeth... they were sharp and pointed.

"Sakura."

Her attention quickly snapped to Sasuke, and she glared at him. "Sasuke. What brings you here?"

One of his eyebrows was arched upwards, apparently he was surprised that she didn't know. "Naruto didn't tell you? Where is he?"

"He left on a mission shortly after you dropped Karin off here. He should be back late tomorrow, if you want to wait and talk to him."

"Hey Sasuke, lets stay here. I want to get to know that hottie better. What didja say her name was? Sakura?"

Sakura visibly bristled at that statement, and was about to give him a piece of her mind, but Karin beat her to it.

"Suigetsu! Kami, you're so rude! Go back to whatever tank you crawled out of and learn some manners!"

Suigetsu scoffed as he looked at Karin. "Quiet, witch, I wasn't talking to you. Don't make me ask Sasuke for your muzzle."

Karin let out a noise that was a mix of a scream and a growl, and pounced on Suigetsu, wrapping both of her hands around his neck in an obvious attempt to choke him. However, instead of choking him, her hands both splashed through his neck. He simply crossed his arms over his chest and laughed at her, only enraging her further as she tried to beat him with her fists - to no avail.

"Stay solid, bastard, so I can beat you to death!"

"Pah, do you think I'm an idiot? If you keep trying to touch me, I might start thinking you're attracted to me in some strange way."

Karin stood up straight, her back completely rigid as she quickly backed away while using one hand to push her glasses up further on her nose. "Y-yeah right! As if I could ever like a sleaze bag like you! B-besides, I'm not the type to go after just... just anyone!"

Suigetsu merely snorted at her comments, then stretched. "Well, whatever. I'm gonna go take a swim in that river, it's been calling my name since we got here. Come get me when we're ready to go get my sword." As he walked past Sakura, he tossed her an exaggerated wink that was impossible for her to miss. Sakura merely grimaced, then turned her attention back to Sasuke, who had his arms crossed in front of him with his eyes closed and a completely neutral expression on his face.

"So, back to my earlier question... what are you here for?"

Sasuke's eyes opened when he heard Sakura's voice, and he stared at her unflinchingly. Sakura found it hard to look back at him without wanting to look somewhere else.

"I'm here for Karin. I need her sensor capabilities. One of the reasons I left her here is so that she could get pointers." Sasuke turned his head to look over at the redhead, who was obviously trying not to fidget under Sasuke's gaze, but failing miserably.

"I... uh, only managed to get a few tips before Kushina-sensei left. She said she'd be back by tomorrow night, but I didn't know you'd be here so soon."

"My plan went faster than I expected. We're moving out to go pick up Juugo... once we have him, we can return here so you can get more training while I look into some leads."

"J-Juugo?! But how the hell do you expect to get Juugo to come with you, let alone get permission from Orochimaru-sama! Juugo is his pet project, it's where he gets all-"

"Orochimaru has been taken care of."

The moment Sasuke uttered those words, Karin fell silent. Sakura couldn't help but stare at her old teammate in shock, not entirely sure if she heard him correctly.

"You... you killed Orochimaru? But how? He's one of the Sannin! Are you really that strong?"

Sasuke focused his attention on Sakura once again for a brief moment before closing his eyes and letting out a small sigh. "Believe what you want. He is no longer of any significance."

Sakura found herself wanting to believe that Orochimaru was really dead, and that Sasuke could have defeated the snake. For one thing, it was one less burden for Konoha to handle, and that also meant she and Naruto no longer had to worry about the man trying to take over Sasuke's body. On the other hand, she didn't know if she was able to grasp Sasuke being quite _that_ strong. Orochimaru was named as one of the Sannin for a reason.

The pinkette shook her head to get rid of those thoughts, there would be more time to dwell on what this meant when Naruto returned. "So when should I tell Kushina-san to expect your return?"

Sasuke turned and looked away, most likely in the direction he was planning on traveling. "We need to stop and get a sword for Suigetsu first... that shouldn't take long. From there, three to five days."

"Alright." Sakura turned and looked at Karin briefly. "I'll see you when you get back. Good luck with... that." She jerked her head towards the river, to which Karin gave a small smirk and a nod.

"Yeah. See you."

Sakura turned and started walking back towards the medical building, offering a small wave over her shoulder. Karin looked towards the river, where she could see Suigetsu splashing about, then turned her gaze back to Sasuke. She was about to ask him when they were leaving, only to see him staring intently at Sakura's back.

"Sasuke? Something wrong?"

Sasuke blinked when he heard his name, then shook his head and let a very small grin cross his face.

"Nothing at all. Let's go."

* * *

Naruto yawned as he wandered down the path towards the main gate. The council meeting had gone on for a lot longer than he - and probably everyone else - had anticipated. Nearly every major merchant family in the meeting decided to pelt him with trade questions, many of which he didn't have the answer to. Tsunade had tried to cover for him as best she could, mostly by repeating over and over that it was currently just an outpost, not a fully built village. When the meeting was finally done she promptly excused herself, claiming that she had a horrible headache and needed some rest.

Naruto interpreted that as needing a bottle of sake and a nap on her desk, to which Shizune immediately excused herself to make sure it didn't happen quite like that.

As the council chamber started to empty following the Hokage's departure, Naruto immediately found himself engulfed in a quick hug from Yamanaka Sumi, followed by a shoulder clap from Inoichi. They both congratulated him on finding his clan and a job well done so far with the outpost, then quickly excused themselves to go join the ring of ninja engaging Kushina and Rin in conversation. Naruto watched with a smile as his mother reconnected with what was likely many of her old acquaintances. He didn't want to take away from time with what was likely many of her old friends, so he started to wander for the exit when Hyuuga Hiashi caught up to him.

Under normal circumstances, he barely got along with the Hyuuga Patriarch. It was well known that Naruto didn't agree with the situation regarding Branch House among the Hyuuga clan, and he wasn't exactly silent about it. Hiashi used to be one of the more vocal voices on the council, from what Naruto managed to overhear in conversations that no one knew he was listening in on, but from what he had seen and heard as of late, the man could be seen as one of his staunchest supporters. Naruto wasn't quite sure what to believe until Hiashi stopped him to chat briefly.

Thinking back, Naruto chuckled to himself as it seemed more like the man chose to threaten him in a nice way. After offering his congratulations, he immediately frowned and said that his daughters lives would be in his care. If anything were to happen to them...

Hiashi had let the conversation drift off there, then excused himself and left the hall ahead of Naruto. The young Jounin wasn't sure what to think at first, until Rin surprised him and gently pat his back, suggesting that they were his only two daughters and he was just worried about their well being. After allaying any worries, Rin told him that his mother was going to catch up with them later, after talking to her old friends a little more. They went their separate ways after that, agreeing on a time to meet up the next morning. They'd be meeting up with a few others, so there was a specific departure time.

"Ow!"

Naruto stopped walking and turned sharply, rubbing the back of his head from the impact. Something hard hit him, and his eyes picked Rin out easily from the nearly empty streets of the early morning.

"You should stop looking up at the sky and daydreaming. You almost walked into a pole."

Turning back around, Naruto looked around in front of him. Surely enough, there was a pole that came up to his stomach barely two feet away from him. Even if the streets were nearly empty, it would have been embarrassing.

"Ah... ha ha. Thanks. Though you could have called my name."

Rin grinned cheekily, patting him on the shoulder as she walked by. "Perhaps. But hitting you was a lot more fun and satisfying. You're a big boy, you can handle it."

Naruto merely grumbled as he jogged back up next to her, still rubbing the back of his head. She was right, it didn't hurt him that bad, but it still stung. Looking around briefly, he noticed that Kushina was not around. "Hey... where's my mom?"

"She didn't get a chance to finish talking with Inuzuka Tsume last night, and wanted to talk to her about some things this morning before we leave. Knowing your mother, she'll be at the gate right on time."

"Any idea what she went to talk about?"

Rin shook her head. "Not a clue. If I had to guess, it's probably about the Uchiha. Your mother, Inuzuka Tsume, and Uchiha Mikoto were all very good friends."

Naruto nodded, mulling over what Rin told him. He still didn't know much at all about his mother, or his father. They'd been spending time getting to know each other, certainly, but they had also been so busy as of late, there was no real time to learn about each other's past. His mother had learned some of the rougher things about his childhood while here, but he still knew relatively nothing about her.

Naruto and Rin continued the walk in silence, and Naruto found his thoughts wandering as they approached the gate. He noticed Hinata and Hanabi were standing by the checking booth... Hinata was trying to look in every direction but the booth while blushing, and Hanabi had her back to Naruto while facing the booth, but was tapping her foot and had her hands on her hips. As he and Rin approached, he could clearly hear Izumo and Kotetsu laughing, while Hanabi let loose with a barrage of scathing remarks.

"Ouch, Hanabi-chan, what did they do to deserve that?"

Hanabi quickly whirled around, looking like she was going to yell at whoever interrupted her tirade, but quickly shut her mouth as her eyes opened wide when she saw who spoke. "Ah! Uhm... Naruto-sensei..."

While Hanabi appeared to briefly be at a loss for words, Hinata looked at Naruto and mumbled his name, giving him a quick bow in greeting. Naruto nodded at the elder Hyuuga sister, giving her a gentle smile, then turned back to Hanabi. He was surprised to hear her call him sensei already, but decided to ask her about it later. "What's wrong, Hanabi-chan?"

The younger sister scowled now, her head turning to look back at the two Chuunin manning the checking booth. "Those two pigs were making a pass at Hinata-oneesama. I wasn't about to stand for it."

Naruto glanced over towards the booth, and listened as Kotetsu started saying 'oink oink' repeatedly, while Izumo laughed and applauded his performance. Naruto turned to Hinata to see if she was okay, only to see her blushing and smiling as she shook her head. Sighing, the blond turned to address Hanabi again.

"It's alright, Hanabi-chan. Hinata looks like she's handling it, and if they are really annoying her, then I'll just ask baa-chan to let me use them to do some of my paperwork at the outpost."

The oinks suddenly turned to wails, and a small smile appeared on Hanabi's face. "Sounds good to me, sensei."

A tap on Naruto's shoulder forestalled any further comment he was about to make, and he looked over to Rin. She was pointing down one of the other paths; Kushina was waving at them, walking alongside Kiba, who was riding Akamaru. There was no further conversation until the two newest arrivals were within speaking range.

"Sorry if we're a little late. I got caught up talking to Tsume, and Kiba-kun here was taking forever."

Kiba scoffed. "It's not my fault! Hana kept nagging me to make sure I was prepared for this trip, wanting to make sure I had everything for myself and Akamaru."

Akamaru decided to voice his opinion, because after several barks, Kiba was groaning at his companion.

"Yes, I know she cares, but that doesn't mean she has to treat me like I'm still a Genin!"

After a few more yips that resembled human laughter, Kiba merely grunted and jumped off Akamaru's back, landing next to Naruto. Rin and Kushina had started a conversation, which ended abruptly when the redhead finally noticed the two Hyuuga girls. "Ahhh! Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama! It's so nice to finally meet the both of you!"

Naruto's mother walked up and bowed in front of the two girls, who both returned the gesture.

"Oh, p-please, Uzumaki-san... you can just call me Hinata."

Hanabi spoke up as soon as Hinata finished, "Likewise, you can call me Hanabi. Tousan says you're the de-facto leader of Whirlpool, so if anything, your status is greater than ours."

Kushina blinked at this, and was quiet for several seconds. "Well, Hiashi-sama is certainly knowledgeable about our situation. I guess it is one of the advantages of being a Hyuuga." The women continued their conversation, but Naruto's attention had been drifting towards Kiba. The Inuzuka had been remarkably quiet since his loud arrival. After a few moments of watching him, Naruto frowned, and elbowed the other teen in the ribs.

"Tch, what the hell, Naruto?"

"Kiba, stop staring at my mom."

Kiba immediately blushed, and averted his eyes. "W-what? It wasn't intentional, I swear!"

Before Naruto could say anything, Akamaru spoke up again, letting out a low howl. Kiba looked at his companion slack-jawed. "Again?! I thought we were partners, Akamaru?!"

Letting out a few more gruffs, Akamaru licked the back of Naruto's hand, causing the blond to laugh and scratch behind one of Akamaru's ears. Naruto had no idea what the dog said, but judging from Kiba's scowl, it was most likely in his favor.

"If you boys are done joking around, we can get moving."

Both teens looked at Kushina, who was waving them over towards the gate. Rin had moved off to the side, and nodded to Naruto as he started to walk past her. "You aren't coming?"

Rin shook her head. "I'm waiting here for an Aburame Shino. He's been acting as courier between Konoha and another outpost in the mountains to the west. Kakashi is there, I'm going to meet up with them and have them return to your outpost."

"I didn't know you had different orders."

Rin shrugged. "I didn't. Your mother heard about the other outpost from Tsume, and told her about the Aburame courier. He's due back today, and I'm just going to ask Hokage-sama for permission to tag along. If she denies it, then I'll be at the outpost shortly after you all... if I don't catch up to you."

Rin surprised him with a quick hug, which he quickly returned, then wandered off back towards the Administration building. Naruto watched her walk for a moment, then turned towards the rest of the group, who was now assembled just outside the gate and was waiting for him.

"Psst! Naruto! Hey!"

As he walked past the booth, he looked at the two Chuunin who were calling his name and beckoning him over. He gestured to the group that he'd be along in a moment, and quickly closed the short distance to the booth.

Kotetsu spoke up as Izumo was looking towards the group. "Hey, hey... Naruto... is the redhead really your mom?"

Not liking where this was likely to go, Naruto frowned and nodded very slowly.

A sly smirk spread over the faces of both Chuunin. "She's... hot. Really hot. Smokin', even."

Naruto scowled at the two Chuunin, who were cackling and looking back and forth between him and the group at the gate. "You both really are pigs."

"Oink oink!"

* * *

"Raikage-sama, I thought you should know that the Lightning Lord is on his way here. One of the Chuunin from the south gate just informed me."

The Raikage looked up from the reports he had scattered across his desk to send a menacing glare at his assistant. "Again?! This is the third visit this week, does that cretin have nothing better to do but waste my time with his trivial wishes?!"

The white-haired assistant didn't flinch for a second, she was quite used to the large man's rough attitude. She learned long ago not to bother trying to calm him down, it would never work. The best thing to do was be quick and precise, in an attempt to prevent getting him even angrier. "Would you like me to send him away, Raikage-sama?"

The Raikage went silent, turning to look out the window behind him. The giant of a man slowly crossed his arms over his chest, and let out a deep grunt. "No, I'll listen to him... again. But I will hold my stance unless he gives me a clear and legitimate reason to use our forces. I haven't been strengthening them for so long just to carelessly toss them about now."

His assistant nodded her head and quickly excused herself, disappearing promptly behind the door to his office. Once she left, the Raikage let out a deep sigh, glancing over the papers scattered across his desk once again. His shinobi had been monitoring the developments heading southward from Lightning Country; the daimyo had been moving his forces swiftly enough to occupy Valley Country with minimal losses, and he already knew the small settlements of Swamp Country would offer no resistance. The only reason he could venture a guess as to why the foot soldiers of Lightning had not entered Rice Field Country was because of a single man... Orochimaru. In fact, it would be unsurprising if that snake didn't have something to do with the daimyo's recent aggressive stance to begin with.

Pushing into Fire Country at this point would be political suicide for the daimyo, as long as he had no allies for backup. The Raikage had so far managed to hold back from sending his shinobi, if they got involved, who knows what the crazy man might attempt next. Speaking of... the Raikage sensed someone swiftly approaching his door.

It was rather haphazardly thrown open, and a wiry, middle-aged man with a sparse goatee and sly smile walked into the room. "Hello again, Raikage-sama."

The big man merely grunted, not even looking up from his paperwork.

"I trust you know why I have come to visit once again? I humbly request you allow us use of your Shinobi. The hidden villages are supposed to help the land they are stationed in during war time, after all."

The Raikage finally glanced up at the man hovering a couple meters away from his desk. "I don't recall ever receiving a message that we are even at war with anyone. I thought you were just letting all your samurai and mercenaries go on vacation down south."

The smile on the Lightning Lord gradually turned into a frown as the man contemplated what to say next. However, instead of saying anything, he walked over to one of the windows, and looked out over the village. There were several moments of silence before the man decided to say anything at all.

"Such a nice hidden village here. It's amazing that you can keep everything running so well."

The Raikage chose not to say anything, waiting for the man to continue. There is no way he would just say something nice and not expect anything out of it. Either that, or he was leading up to a threat. Nearly all politicians were the same, feed you chocolates from one hand while stabbing you in the back with the other.

"It would be a shame if funding to the village was cut. After all, instead of spending it here, I'll need the funds shifted to supply my troops that are doing actual work."

"How dare you!" The Raikage roared, smashing his desk into little splinters as he stood up quickly, facing the sleazy politician who merely stared at him with a raised eyebrow and another sly smirk on his face. "The money you give to this village goes to more than just the shinobi, it's used to maintain the village and it's civilians! The number of civilians that live here outnumber the shinobi six to one!"

"There are plenty of other villages in this land that they can move to. They don't have to move at all, if you'd just let me have a few shinobi to round out my forces."

The scowl on the Raikage's face deepened, and he settled for glaring at the Lightning Lord for several moments before looking away and growling out a response. "I'll see if I can send a few Genin your way. I'll want to see a declaration of war before I give you any of my higher ranked shinobi."

"Very well. Or... you could just lend me the jinchuuriki, and then I wouldn't need any further shinobi from you. One visit to the battlefield by him, and I doubt any of our opponents would bother to offer much resistance."

"Out of the question." The Raikage rapidly shook his head back and forth. "With Akatsuki running unchecked, I will not put Bee anywhere near the front lines. Not just because he is my brother, but also because it wouldn't be wise for Konoha to have the only jinchuuriki left. The Kyuubi, at that."

While the Lightning Lord did not comment further, the obvious frown on his face spoke volumes. "As you wish, though I will continue to hope you reconsider regarding the status of your weapon."

The Raikage's shoulders visibly twitched at that comment, but he chose to bite his tongue instead of speaking out. If it was another shinobi who had spoken, he would have killed them on the spot, but this man was a Lord... there could be severe repercussions. Contrary to what was common belief, he didn't become Raikage by killing everyone who got in his way. He continued watching the man as he headed for the exit.

"I expect to see these... Genin... within the week. Good day, Raikage-sama."

The Lighting Lord excused himself from the room after that, and the Raikage turned to look back out over his village. If only the citizens down there could have heard what the Lightning Lord had said about them, how little he really cared for their well being...

"Raikage-sama, we have the new desk ready to be installed, with your permission."

Looking over his shoulder, he gave his assistant a nod. The woman returned the nod, then disappeared momentarily. He listened as she talked to the carpenters about replacing his desk, yet again. The Raikage couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh. Perhaps it was time to talk to some of the other Kage's. At least the Hokage and Tsuchikage. While Lightning was still technically neutral, he respected both Onoki and Tsunade, and was aware of their exploits. While strength was key to being a shinobi, useless expendature of resources when it wasn't necessary was a pet peeve.

Making up his mind, the Raikage grabbed a blank sheet of paper off the ground nearby, and thought about how he could express his... _concerns_ about the daimyo of Lightning to them... without sounding like a traitor.

It would be very tricky indeed.

* * *

**A/N:** Chapters 8, 9, and 10 have been edited and revised, in case anyone feels like going back to take a look. Unless you want to wait until all chapters are edited, which is fine. If a chapter doesn't have a title, that means it hasn't been edited yet.

Thanks to all reviews and people who have sent me messages. Especially those of you who catch nagging little mistakes and message me about them, so when I go back and do edits, I can fix it. Thats why professional authors have whole teams of editors. It's just me an' my beta for this, and as much as we'd like to be, we're not perfect. Expectations can only be held at such a height, I'd like to believe, considering this is merely fanfiction. There are plenty of authors out there who write with the flair and professionalism that could get books published easily. For myself... eh, I do it for fun!

Up Next: Unintended Consequences


	24. Unintended Consequences

Chapter 24

Naruto signed off on the last requisition sheet that was sitting in front of him on his desk, then happily dumped it on top of the small stack to the left. There hadn't been much left to do once he got back to the Outpost, Sakura had taken care of everything quite well, just like he knew she would. She had admitted to him that there wasn't really a lot to be done, reading his crappy handwriting actually took her longer than the paperwork itself. As a result, he had tried making a conscious effort to write at least a little more neatly. No one that he knew of ever really read anything he wrote in the past, except for the occasional mission report or class assignments, so he never really took time to work on penmanship. Maybe that was one reason why he always failed so many assignments... they just couldn't read what he wrote, and never bothered to seek him out for clarification. Not that he would have been willing to respond anyway.

Chuckling as he thought about bygone days, he leaned back in his chair, raising his arms above his head to stretch. The moment he did, however, he immediately brought his arms back down with a wince and held his right side just under his ribcage. Sakura had been frustrated with him upon his return to the outpost, and after everyone got reacquainted, she pulled him aside for a few minutes to really lay into him.

* * *

_Walking down the hallway side by side, Naruto was letting Sakura lead the way to her office, when he was suddenly elbowed hard enough to slam him up against the wall of the hallway._

_"Ugh!" Naruto held his side, wincing, then cautiously looked up at his girlfriends face. She was definitely agitated about something. "What the hell, Sakura-chan? That hurt!"_

_Her dour expression broke for barely a moment before the glower returned. "You've got some nerve not telling me that Sasuke was here the other day."_

_The blond paled, immediately realizing his folly. There had been so much going on already, Karin and Sasuke were one of those last minute surprises..._

_He sighed, and looked down. "I'm sorry Sakura. It wasn't on purpose, but I had a lot to do before leaving for Konoha, and you did distract me a bit that evening before I had to leave."_

_When he didn't get an immediate reply, he slowly looked up at her face, trying to gauge her reaction to his apology. She looked cautiously neutral, but one eyebrow was arched up slightly._

_"Only a bit?"_

_Surprised at her change of topic and sudden boldness, he couldn't help but blink and gape like a fish for several seconds before he caught himself._

_"Wha? Oh! N-no... definitely more than a bit. I just meant that-"_

_He stopped talking as he felt one of her fingers press against his lips. "Shh. I just wanted to make you squirm a little. Come over to my office, I'll check and see if I did any damage."_

_Nodding and following her towards her office again - albeit an extra step or two further away this time - they walked in silence the rest of the way. His mind was whirling, trying to fathom the speed at which her mood suddenly changed. Perhaps the immediate apology was the best way to go, or she did understand that he accidentally forgot, and just wanted to confirm it. Still... her elbow hurt!_

_"Here, sit down and lift your arm."_

_Nodding dumbly once again, he sat in the small chair that she had turned from facing her desk. Lifting his arm, she unceremoniously unzipped his flak jacket, then green chakra immediately surrounded her left hand as she moved it underneath the opened jacket to check on any damage that her elbowing him earlier might have caused. He blushed slightly at the contact, feeling her hand through the mesh he wore under the jacket. He risked a glance at her, only to notice that she was in complete medic mode, not even paying attention to anything but his potentially bruised chest._

_"I'm sorry."_

_He blinked, not expecting her to say anything before she finished looking him over. If she did say something, it was usually to scold him for being stupid. "It's alright. I deserved it."_

_Sakura shook her head, causing her hair to sway back and forth. "A part of me knew you might have simply forgotten, but another part of me was angry that I didn't get to prepare to face him. I've... never been good... at handling or dealing with Sasuke. He's only really ever ignored me, claimed I annoy him, or treated me like the damsel in distress I used to be. Nothing like you. If he treated me the same way here, I might have cleaned his clock. Luckily, he just wanted to borrow Karin for a bit, so I didn't really have to talk to him."_

_He felt Sakura's hand slowly probing around his abdominal area, likely trying to mend any damage to his muscles to keep the bruising to a minimum. Another portion of his brain was trying to comprehend what she was saying, considering he'd never heard her talk about Sasuke like this. This was still a new experience for him, some days he still had a hard time believing she was together with him. It calmed him down some, too, because he could think about Sasuke and what he was doing without a constant reminder of him being an object of Sakura's affections in the past. He never mentioned to Sakura that those thoughts would eat him up inside, but something about how she talked about Sasuke gave him the impression that she might have figured it out anyway._

_Naruto looked down at Sakura's hands, watching her fingers lightly trace over his abdomen, green chakra surrounding them. He figured it might be best to try to keep the conversation somewhat professional. "Well, we know his current goal is to kill Itachi. It's common knowledge among shinobi and most of the older civilians that Itachi is the one who killed his clan. But Itachi doesn't really seem like the type of person to kill every single one of his clansmen from what I've come to know about him, and even though he admits to killing them, he won't say why. Sasuke never talked about it either, and he'd ignore me whenever I asked about his family. There's definitely more going on than either of them will say. Maybe once this whole thing with Itachi is over, it won't be so hard to talk to Sasuke normally. Or even both of them, if we can find a way to stop them from killing each other."_

_Sakura glanced at him briefly as he said that, before returning her concentration to his abdomen, though she still had one brow raised high. "Maybe we can figure something out. Did you talk to Sasuke much when he dropped Karin off the first time?"_

_"No. I offered a place for him here if he wanted it, but he didn't really answer. He knows that he needs to come here if he wants Karin to get more training, so he'll at least be stopping by here every now and then. We should be able to keep track of where he's been and what he's been doing if he feels like cooperating. Otherwise..."_

_Sakura sighed and slowly nodded as Naruto's voice drifted off, but didn't say anything further. Instead she pulled her hand away from near his ribs and stood up. "Well, I didn't hit you as hard as I thought, much to my relief. There might be some slight bruising, but I'm rather certain I patched all the problem spots before anything serious happened. At the rate you heal, you'll probably only be sore for a day, if that."_

_Naruto grunted as he stood up. His side was feeling better already, but his muscles still felt a bit taut and burned as he stretched a little. It would go away eventually. "I don't think I'll ever understand why you like using me as a punching bag so much."_

_His girlfriend merely grinned. "Well, you've proven to me that you can take a licking and keep on ticking in the past, and that doesn't seem to have changed. At least you know what to expect, right?"_

_Clucking his tongue and shaking his head, Naruto unconsciously moved his hand to rest on his jacket where he was elbowed earlier. Sakura must have noticed this because she frowned, then moved up in front of him. Getting on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips against his, much to his pleasant surprise, and let them linger for several seconds._

_Slowly pulling away, she tossed him a sultry grin. "There. A kiss to make it all better."_

_Naruto couldn't help but bark out a laugh and give her a big smile. "That made me feel good, but all I need to do is think about the other night and it makes me feel great every time!"_

_Sakura simply gaped at him, a blush quickly turning her face nearly the same color as her hair. As Naruto began chuckling and blushing himself, Sakura crossed her arms under her chest and looked away, biting at her lower lip._

_"Ah, I didn't mean to embarrass you Sakura-chan. It just made me really happy."_

_Her face shifted slightly in his direction, and she looked at him once again from the corner of her eye. "Really?"_

_Naruto adopted his trademark pose, one hand behind his head, giving her a big grin while ignoring the tightness from his abdomen muscles. "Yeah, really! It was wonderful!"_

_Turning back to him with a shy smile, she leaned forward a little, her hands clutched behind her back, and gave him an exaggerated wink. "Well, if you're a good boy and get your work done, maybe there will be more of where that came from... tonight."_

* * *

A couple rapid knocks on the door to his sparse office quickly snapped him from his musings. He couldn't help but grumble for a second, the interruptions always happened just as he was getting to the interesting parts.

"Come in."

The door opened part way, and a head of messy dark hair leaned through the opening. It took a second for Naruto to recognize Jun - he hadn't really seen the man much at all since they last parted ways after his mother reactivated Whirlpool.

"Greetings, Uzumaki-taichou. A... representative of Hidden Mist wishes to talk with you."

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly. "Hidden Mist? Isn't this rather out of the way for them?"

Jun's head shifted slightly, but otherwise he did not reply. Naruto had to guess that the man shrugged, since he couldn't see the rest of his body behind the door. Rubbing his side as he stood up, Naruto nodded at the man.

"Tell them I'll be down in a second."

"Yes." The door clicked closed behind Jun, and Naruto grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair. He started putting it on as he left the room and walked down the hallway, heading for the exit of the Administration Building. He had no idea what the Hidden Mist could possibly want, or even why they wanted to talk to him of all people. At least they weren't attacking, and he was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Squinting his eyes as the sunlight hit them, Naruto took a look around. It wasn't too hard to spot the group, everyone else standing about outside was looking in the direction of the newcomers. Kiba was standing next to them, apparently standing guard with Akamaru. Jun pointed in his direction and mouthed something to the representatives of the Hidden Mist, and he saw the two shinobi nod. At least he believed they were shinobi, they wore headbands with the symbol of the Mist emblazoned upon them, but they weren't wearing typical shinobi flak jackets, nor did they have visible kunai pouches.

As he approached them, he gave the two a small wave, to which the one standing in front offered a hand to shake.

"Hello. My name is Daitoku Arata, Jounin and Ambassador for the Hidden Mist village. The young man behind me is my student."

Naruto shook the hand of his student as well while the young man introduced himself, filing both of their names away for future reference should anything come up. His lip twitched as he figured he'd probably have to write a report about this, even if nothing of importance happened. All of the paperwork was just finished too, though maybe Sakura would still be willing to... on second thought, maybe he just shouldn't mention this visit to her, period.

Snapping that train of thought before it got too far away from where he needed to be, he looked directly into the eyes of the first representative. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Tokubetsu Jounin of Leaf Village and Captain of the Whirlpool Outpost. What brings you here today?"

The jounin, Arata, raised both of his eyebrows after Naruto said his name, then took a quick look around before focusing on Naruto once again. "Uzumaki? So your clan really has reformed after all. We did pick up on some rumors in Wave, so we decided to head up this way and potentially confirm before we went to Konoha."

Now it was Naruto's turn to raise his eyebrows. "Our clan is known in Mist?"

"You're... probably too young to know, but yes... Uzumaki is a well known name. Even if they were closely allied with Konoha, they still were willing to be hired out as mercenary scouts to other neutral or allied countries. They were the best scouts and infiltrators money could buy, if you could actually find one looking for work. Many countries were in tears when Iwa wiped them out. Or, well... supposedly wiped them out."

This was news to Naruto, though every day he was still learning new things about his clan. Considering their capabilities at chakra detection, this discovery wasn't really much of a surprise.

"There aren't many of us left, though we're doing the best we can to make a comeback. So you were just stopping by to investigate?"

"Well, yes and no. Our original plans were to go straight from Wave Country to Konohagakure in Fire Country, but while we were in Wave we started hearing the rumor that Whirlpool Country was reforming. A little more investigation revealed that the Uzumaki had returned, and you might be interested to know that many merchants there were talking amongst themselves, eager to either visit this outpost here, or hoping that a representative shows up there."

Naruto nodded at the Mist jounin. "We fended off a bandit attack not too long ago that was after a merchant convoy from Wave. That's probably how the news of our return spread."

"I see. Well, we decided to head this way to check for ourselves, the missions you've been doing for nearby villages and towns pointed us in this direction. We didn't know you were part of Konoha's forces, however." The jounin pointed at Naruto's headband.

"Not everyone here is. I'm technically the only Uzumaki who is a registered Leaf shinobi. Leaf is in charge of this outpost, but whatever happens outside of it is up to the Uzumaki clan."

"I see. Well in that case-"

Anything further the man might have said was cut off when there was a poof of smoke not too far off from where their little group was standing. A glimpse of silver caught Naruto's eye, and he started to guess that Kakashi and his group had shown up early for once. It immediately changed to concern when he saw the man fall to one knee, breathing heavily. Excusing himself from the presence of the representative, he quickly jogged over, followed by Kiba.

"Kakashi? What's wrong?"

The veteran jounin looked up at his old student and tried to give one of his 'eye-smiles', but it didn't last long.

"Ambushed by a full squad. We need backup. I'm a clone, I can take you most of the way back, but I'm running low on chakra since I used Shunshin so much to get here fast."

Akamaru barked as Kiba's mouth started running a mile a minute. "Wait, you were ambushed? By who!? Lightning wouldn't be stupid enough to attack us, would they? What's going on Kakashi?"

The man simply shook his head and continued breathing heavily, then turned his gaze back to Naruto. The blond immediately performed a hand sign and made a Kage Bunshin, which turned and sped off towards the medical building. He turned and looked at Jun, who was gazing at Kakashi inquisitively.

"Jun, I need you to go find my mother, and tell her to meet Sakura and my clone here. I'm leaving with Kakashi to help out. Then get Nayoko and anyone else with combat experience you can find and tell them to be prepared in case something happens and we don't make it back." Jun nodded quickly and disappeared as Naruto shifted his gaze over to Kiba.

"Kiba, I'm having Sakura come because I need a medic, and she'll head out with my mother since she'll be able to track me more precisely than you could. I'm putting you in charge while I'm gone."

"What?! But I can help you fight! Come on, Naruto!"

Naruto stared Kiba down, getting agitated because there was no time for backtalk. His eyes must have changed unintentionally, because Kiba's eyes went wide and he grumbled his acceptance shortly after.

"Do you want more help? I wouldn't mind, it would help with relations between our countries and villages."

Naruto cocked his head and looked at Arata, but shook his head. "I have no control over what you wish to do, I'm not your commander. If you want to come along, that's fine, but it might be a good idea to hang back since I don't think either of us want any accidents or international incidents."

Arata nodded, "Point taken, but we'll do what we can."

Turning towards and looking at Kakashi's clone once again, Naruto zipped up his vest and grinned. "Let's do this."

* * *

Kakashi panted from his spot behind a rather large tree. This situation had just been going from bad to worse. He thought that following the river would have been too obvious and left them open to any potential attack. They still traveled along the river, but further inland, so as to not be too obvious. Even though they were cautious, they somehow managed to land in an ambush.

They had encountered a full squadron of Sound shinobi. Twelve of them versus Kakashi and the other four he was traveling with on their way back to Whirlpool. The Sound shinobi seemed just as surprised to see the Konoha jounin as they were to see anyone from Sound Village in Fire Country. The Sound nin attacked almost immediately, most likely as an attempt to silence their group from being able to tell anyone. One among the group of Sound ninja had some type of chakra buffer ability - it hid all the other chakra sources perfectly, and only made it so any of their group was able to feel 'static'. They were on guard as a result, but they had no idea how many opponents they would be facing.

As it turned out, there was at least two Sound shinobi for each one of them, plus two of them got to deal with three. Kakashi had already incapacitated his third, leaving another two. He didn't have an opportunity to see how the rest of his group was faring because he was too busy with his other two opponents. Someone landing nearby caused him to reflexively reach for his kunai, but his hand paused when he recognized who it was.

"Ah, Yamato. How goes it?"

The wood-user shook his head. "Not so good, I haven't been able to finish off either of mine. One of them is able to emit some kind of noise that makes my wood techniques brittle so they shatter. The other one is a lightning user, so I'm not a good match for them."

Kakashi nodded slowly, examining his surroundings. "Let's swap then. My last two have only used fire and water based attacks, so you should be able to handle them."

"Kakashi-senpai, any word on reinforcements from Naruto?"

The copy nin shook his head. "Not yet, but my Kage Bunshin hasn't dispelled yet either. So I'm going to assume that it's being held up for some reason, it's been long enough."

Yamato nodded, then started to move away. He didn't get very far, however, before Kakashi grabbed his arm.

"It would seem I spoke too soon. Naruto is on his way, Sakura, Kushina, and two ninja from Mist are not far behind."

"Mist?!"

Kakashi shrugged. "Explanations later. Fight now."

Yamato paused for a moment, then nodded and promptly vanished. So Naruto wanted a signal so he could pinpoint their location amidst the chakra static... that was doable, but it would be best if he had a-

"Oho, here's a different one of those Leaf ninja pukes. He looks tired too. Poor fella." The two Sound ninja started laughing.

"Well, sometimes appearances can be deceiving." Kakashi grabbed at his headband, and uncovered his sharingan eye, causing the two Sound shinobi to stop laughing and fall into ready stances. "Now, what do you say we have a little fun? I've gotten bored sitting here."

"You... you don't scare us!"

Kakashi simply grinned behind his face mask, crouching down slightly and grabbing his left wrist with his right hand. Some shinobi who didn't recognize him? He almost felt some small amount of pity for them, but immediately squelched it.

"We'll see how long manage to keep up that brave face." Kakashi's hand started glowing a bluish-white and a loud screeching noise started to fill the area. "Raikiri!"

* * *

Naruto landed in the small clearing where he felt the chakra pulse from his old teachers technique just a moment before. Looking around, there was a broken tree and a body laying on the ground next to it with some smoke coming off of it. Moving closer to investigate, Naruto noticed that there was a decently sized chunk of flesh missing from the body's side, and the rest of his visible skin had burns and broken sores all over where it boiled. Knowing what techniques Kakashi commonly used, this was probably the result of a Raikiri. Judging by the location of the hit, the shinobi had tried to move, but Kakashi was too fast and still clipped him. A clip by a Raikiri was still enough to kill.

Turning away from the remains, Naruto sniffed at the air. Not being able to pick up much other than the scents of blood and sweat, he switched over to try to rely on his clan's detection sense. His brow furrowed as he tried to concentrate - there was extremely faint chakra signatures moving around him, but it was impossible to pinpoint anything. It almost felt like something was blanketing everything in a layer of chakra. This was going to be irritating. There were no noises either, a typical fight between experienced shinobi was usually like this if it took place in a densely wooded area. Frantic moments of activity and combat followed by longer stretches of silence as opponents tried to quietly maneuver themselves into ambush positions.

He dropped down to a crouch as he heard someone land behind him, then quickly whirled around with several kunai in his hands.

The person across from him was crouched down as well, and he saw that they had a hand extended, palm outward. His gaze shifted up to their face...

"Good, you're okay."

Yuugao nodded at him, offering a small grin and carefully shifted closer. She stood a few steps away from him and looked around. "You're here... are you alone?"

"There are others on the way. Is anyone injured?"

Yuugao shrugged, now focusing on him once again. "I don't know. I don't think so, but it's hard to tell. There were fights going on all over the place that I could hear just a minute ago, but we all felt when Kakashi let loose with the Raikiri. After that the Sound nin must have become a lot more cautious."

Naruto grunted, looking away and off into the distance at nothing in particular, squinting his eyes. "There's something that is messing with my sensing ability. I can't pinpoint anyone."

"Yeah, that's how we fell into the ambush in the first place. One of them seems to be able to hide their presence, while at the same ti-gurk!"

Naruto quickly whirled back around to look at Yuugao to see her looking down at her stomach. Naruto immediately felt all the hairs on his body standing on end, only to jump away in the nick of time as a oblong ball of lightning crashed down onto the ground, scorching the spot where he was standing barely a second ago. Ignoring where the attack came from, Naruto looked towards Yuugao again, spotting another shinobi standing behind her with one hand on a sword hilt and the other touching the back of her neck. With a sickening noise, the shinobi pulled his blade out from her abdomen, and turned to look at Naruto with a cruel grin.

Yuugao's body was uncharacteristically stiff as she slowly dropped to her knees while holding her stomach, then fell forward onto her face. The other Sound nin - a kunoichi - that had attacked him before but missed, appeared next to Yuugao and scowled at the fallen woman, then spit on her.

"Finally got that bitch, she was annoying. Constantly dodging our attacks all the time."

"Heh, I'll say. My ability came in handy, that's for sure. She let her guard down when she got near that other guy though. I don't know if I should thank him or kill him."

The woman laughed. "Might as well kill him. Looks like he's too shocked to hear anything you'd have to say to him."

Naruto drowned out their voices as he looked at Yuugao lying there on the ground, the pool of blood under her was slowly growing, turning both the soil and the grass a deep shade of crimson. The one person who had helped him more than anyone else, because she wanted to and not because she was told to...

He couldn't protect her. She was right next to him, and he couldn't do a thing. How could... how could...

Teeth clenched, one of Naruto's hands rose up and clenched his jacket over his heart. It hurt. Yuugao was his sister in everything but blood for years. "Nee-chan..."

"Hey hey, you hear that? Apparently this broad was his sister."

"Aww, how nice, now brother and sister get to die together. Just peachy." The woman laughed again, kicking at Yuugao's prone body before stepping over her and walking towards him, her hands making a sign.

For a second, Naruto thought he noticed Yuugao twitch, but he was finding it hard to concentrate. As soon as he saw the kunoichi kick at Yuugao's prone body, something inside of him snapped.

After that, he could only see red.

* * *

"Do you have any idea where the others are?"

Both Genma and Rin shook their heads, but it was Rin who responded to Sakura's inquiry. "We all split up to take on the ambush without getting in each others way. Genma only stuck by me because Kakashi told him too." Rin rolled her eyes and kept her left arm tucked against her chest as she talked, while Genma just groaned and looked away. Sakura had started taking a look at Rin's arm the moment she had arrived, letting the older woman rest for a moment to regain some stamina.

"We need to find the others somehow. I only managed to find this place because it was like a giant blank spot in the middle of my senses. I was just heading for the center of it, since that's likely where whatever is causing this is located."

Genma pulled a senbon out of his pocket and stuck it in his mouth as Rin let out a sigh. "Yeah, that's how we fell into this ambush in the first place. They obviously weren't expecting us, because they all looked surprised, but they still attacked us anyway. One of them has some kind of suppression ability. We've had to find our opponents by line of sight and smell only."

Sakura pulled away from Rin, then moved over to Genma to check him for any bad wounds. Kushina and Sakura had just arrived on the scene as the other two took down the second of the four Sound shinobi who had reportedly engaged them. One of them was dead, and the other one was unconscious and bound tightly nearby.

"Well, it looks like both of you got by relatively unsca-"

Sakura was stopped short as an immense pressure settled down on her, one that spoke of ill-will and malice. "Oh no..."

Genma grunted and rubbed his head, while Rin looked panicked. Kushina was standing rigid for a second, then collapsed to the ground, shivering.

"Kushina!" Both Rin and Sakura shouted at the same time, looking at each other in surprise. Without another word both of them moved over to the shaking woman, trying to steady her. She was currently on her knees, her face in her hands, mumbling incoherently. Genma moved over and crouched down in front of her, concerned.

"Kushina! Please, snap out of it! That's Naruto! If he's using that power, that means he probably needs our help!"

Hearing Sakura say her son's name seemed to do enough to snap her out of the funk she had fallen in. She still looked about incoherently, until Rin started talking to her in a soothing manner. A few seconds later, Kushina slowly stood back up, looking at everyone with a frown on her face.

"I'm sorry. As soon as I felt that chakra I just... I don't know. Memories... that's all I can say."

"It's fine. We can worry about any issues later. For now we need to go find the kid, see what's wrong."

Kushina nodded at Genma, then proceeded to leap towards the source of the foul chakra, the other three following shortly behind her.

* * *

A loud roar nearly made Kakashi fall off the tree branch from where he was watching this... massacre. The moment the Kyuubi's chakra hit him, he immediately headed in it's direction, knowing that Naruto would only tap into that power if the situation was dire.

Apparently, there could also be a trigger. Examining the small battlefield, he couldn't help but notice Yuugao lying in a pool of blood, presumably her own. He didn't know if the Sound nin who could blanket their chakra sense was dead or not, but the Kyuubi's presence was so overwhelming that detecting anyone else's chakra at this point would have been impossible. He had no chakra seal tags on him either, so getting closer to check on Yuugao would probably be detrimental to his health - especially if she was the trigger. Kakashi didn't know if Naruto was conscious or not, but knowing how little of him was aware even when he had 2 tails...

Considering there were 5 tails visible now, Naruto probably didn't care about anything but killing those who did him harm, or could potentially do him harm. The Sound shinobi didn't know what to do, obviously. They all appeared in quick succession to investigate, and Kyuubi-Naruto had no problem tearing them to pieces as they appeared. Body parts were scattered throughout the area, though oddly enough, it was in a pattern that was away from where Yuugao was lying. Naruto may very well still have been awake in there somewhere.

Naruto had one of the remaining Sound nin in his clutches, holding the man up by his neck and growling at him in a low rumble. The shinobi was screaming, but his voice was quickly becoming hoarse. He was beating on the arm that was holding him up, but it was to no avail. The chakra was burning him, the Kyuubi's chakra was killing him just by skin contact.

"Naruto! W-What..."

Kakashi turned his head rapidly upon hearing Kushina's voice. This could be bad. He quickly moved down towards the woman, noticing upon arrival that she was staring fearfully at Kyuubi Naruto while Sakura explained what was going on.

"...draws on Kyuubi's power. It looks like whatever happened to Yuugao-san triggered his rage, releasing the chakra."

Naruto had turned to look at them with the big, completely white eyes he had when Kyuubi's chakra coated him. One of them had turned into a squint, as if he was contemplating something. That appearance vanished when he felt the Sound nin still in his grasp try to stab him in the arm with a kunai. It didn't pierce the chakra coating at all, and did nothing but enrage Naruto further. He let out a roar and simply threw the offending nin against a nearby tree, who proceeded to crash through that one with a loud cracking noise, as well as several more trees behind it.

That done, everyone held their breath as the five tailed Naruto turned to look at them again, then proceeded to move towards Yuugao. Kakashi watched and prepared to move Yuugao should it be necessary, and he was sure that he heard the two women next to him gasp. Much to his surprise, Naruto merely sat back on his haunches as he looked down at the woman, growling softly.

Kushina shrieked as large beams of wood shot out from the ground, wrapping around Naruto and all his visible tails. He let out an incredible roar at this, causing everyone present to wince, and Rin even covered her ears. Yamato landed next to Kakashi, breathing hard.

"Sorry I'm late Kakashi-senpai, I got held up by my last opponent. Get Yuugao-senpai so I can start the suppression."

"Right." Kakashi moved swiftly, doing his best to be careful at moving Yuugao while not potentially causing any more damage. The moment he started moving the woman back towards Sakura, Naruto let out another roar, though this time it sounded closer to a wail. The elite jounin couldn't help but look back at Naruto, who was furiously struggling against his restraints while staring at the woman in his arms. Turning away and quickly moving over to Sakura, he set the woman down on the ground, and the pink haired girl immediately started healing the wound.

"She got lucky, whoever stabbed her just missed her liver. The stab itself isn't fatal, but she's lost a lot of blood, so I need to get her back to the outpost - the blood replenishment pill I have won't be enough to get her stabilized. I'd take her back now, but Naruto might need me too."

"Genma and I will take her back. He can carry her while I monitor her vitals."

Genma immediately moved to pick up the incapacitated woman, carrying her bridal style. Rin gave a nod and smile to Kakashi, then took off with Genma back towards the outpost.

"Kushina-san! Please stay back!"

Whirling around, Kakashi saw that Yamato was trying to prepare to suppress the chakra of the Kyuubi as Naruto still growled and thrashed about. Kushina was moving closer and closer though, much to his alarm. He quickly moved forward, grabbing her arm and halting her progress.

"Kushina, that's not safe."

The redhead whirled on him. Her face was a mess of tear-streaks, but her eyes were ablaze with anger and there was a snarl on her face. She literally hissed at him, "He's my son, Hatake! He needs me! Let me go, or so help me..."

"What's Naruto doing?"

The simple question from Sakura stopped everyone, and they all turned to look at him. He had stopped his thrashing, and was completely calm. He was staring at Kushina with his head cocked slightly to the side, once again appearing curious. Kushina ripped her arm from Kakashi's grip, and started moving towards Naruto at a steady pace.

"Naruto? Naruto, honey... it's me, your mother. Do you understand?"

Naruto's head cocked to the other side, and his eyes squinted slightly, much to everyone's surprise.

"Yamato, release him. Slowly."

The jounin looked at him in shock. "But Kakashi-senpai, that's not safe!"

Kakashi nodded. "I know, but I've never seen or heard about anything like this. If something starts to happen, I should be fast enough to get her out of the way. I don't agree with her putting her life at risk like this... but she is his mother."

Yamato looked skeptical at best, but mumbled something incoherent and slowly pulled back the wood that was keeping Naruto secure. Once he was completely released, Naruto continued to sit there, watching Kushina curiously, and not moving. The woman stopped no more than a few feet in front of him, then slowly raised her hand, offering it to him, palm outward.

Naruto merely stared at it, then let out some strange noise and slowly raised one of his hands towards hers.

"The Kyuubi's chakra... it's pulling back!"

Kakashi looked closely at Naruto's hand, and sure enough, the Kyuubi's chakra was slowly pulling back from the boy's hand. Kushina took a step forward to grab the hand that was now visible, and the chakra started pulling back from the rest of his extremities as well. Some some of his hair became visible from the top of his head, as well as his other hand and both of his feet.

After noticing this, Kushina moved closer again, and the chakra almost immediately receded back towards Naruto's stomach where the seal was located. As soon as it disappeared, Naruto started falling backwards, only for Kushina to catch him and slowly lay him down, his head in her lap. The other three quickly rushed over, Kakashi and Yamato kept a little distance while Sakura moved to his other side, immediately healing his sunburned-looking skin.

"M-mom?"

Kushina started, then looked at her son's face. He had one bright blue eye open, staring up at her. "Yes, baby, I'm here."

Naruto let out a sound that was something between a laugh and a cough. "Jeez, mom... I'm sixteen. Not... not a baby."

Kushina smiled faintly, tears dripping from her face onto Naruto's. "Hush, you'll always be my baby."

The blond returned her smile, then his currently open eye widened further. "W-wait, I remember... Yuugao... nee-chan! Is nee-chan okay? Did I... what did I do?" He started breathing heavily, panting and trying to push himself up, but Sakura scowled and pushed him back down with some assistance from Kushina.

"Yuugao-san is fine. Rin is currently taking her back to the outpost for more thorough medical attention than what I can do in the field." Sakura smiled softly as she continued healing Naruto's burnt skin, trying to reinforce his weakened bones in the process. She still hadn't looked towards his face, though.

"Sakura-chan... you're crying?"

She didn't wipe her tears this time, even though she knew she was crying, and knew why. Being in this situation right now reminded her of the last time this happened, back when Yamato almost managed to tell her how she felt before she would even own up to it. Now that she fully accepted how she felt about him, she realized how terrified she was. Terrified of what would happen to the man she was in love with if somehow the Kyuubi consumed him. Terrified of just how far he would go if she or Kushina were ever injured like Yuugao was. Terrified of what she would feel like if she ever lost him...

"I'll.. I'll be fine, Naruto. You need to rest and recover. We don't have to chase Orochimaru this time."

Kushina looked at her sharply, which was actually a very scary look because of the woman's bloodshot eyes and the tear streaks running down her face. A small laugh from Naruto, however, returned her gaze to him.

"Yeah... that's... that's true..."

Naruto's voice drifted off and his head rolled slightly to one side. Kushina started playing with his hair, using her free hand.

"His heart rate has slowed, as has his breathing. He's fallen asleep, completely exhausted. The skin burn isn't bad and I've almost got it healed, but according to my scan his bones are weaker than the time he used four tails. We can move him to the outpost, but we need to be gentle."

"Alright. I'll carry him. No sense in hanging out here any longer." Kakashi turned around and squatted down so that the two women could gently lift the young man up. The two proceeded to carefully place Naruto on Kakashi's back as the copy ninja looped his arms under Naruto's legs.

"Yamato, you take point, Kushina and Sakura, you cover the flank. Just in case there are any stragglers that didn't encounter Naruto or ran away. I'll come back later with someone else afterward to get the Sound shinobi who were incapacitated."

"That won't be necessary."

The four whirled to their left, where two men were standing, another three shinobi dumped unceremoniously at their feet.

"Ah, the Mist delegation. Where were you guys?"

Arata shrugged. "Uzumaki-san allowed us to come along, but recommended that we stay back so no accidents happen. We simply followed his advice. One of these shinobi was already tied up, but the other two were trying to get away after they felt Kyuubi's chakra, so we simply kept them from getting away."

Kakashi nodded. "My thanks. We'll be able to interrogate them a little at the outpost before we decide what to do with them. However, in regards to the Kyuubi, it has an S-rank secrecy classification in Konoha. So we have a problem."

Arata frowned and shook his head. "Not much of one. I'm fairly certain that everyone in the Elemental Countries knows who has the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. We just didn't know who the actual person was. But since we do know now, I doubt any issue will come from it. Mist isn't willing to sour their relationship with the Uzumaki over a bijuu. They would be foolish to, in my opinion."

"Very well. I'll take your word for it, though we will have to talk more once we get back to the outpost. You understand."

"Of course. We'll follow next to you."

Nodding once more, Kakashi addressed everyone present. "Alright everyone, let's go. The sooner we get back, the sooner I can return to my Icha Icha."

Kushina snorted while Sakura smacked her forehead. He was getting to be too predictable.

* * *

Up next: Proposition


	25. Proposition

Chapter 25

Blinking his eyes slowly, Naruto gradually awakened. At first he couldn't see anything and started to panic as a result, but swiftly calmed down once he looked around and let his eyes adjust. He was located inside a room, that much he could tell, and it was dark outside the first window he spotted, so apparently he had been out for a while. His last memories were of watching both his mother and girlfriend looking over him with tears in their eyes. He had drawn on the Kyuubi's power again, and he could only hope that he didn't injure anyone important to him. The last couple times he used Kyuubi's power, he couldn't remember anything. This time, however...

He could recall vague memory snapshots. The first one he recalled was seeing the look of panic on his mother's face when she first arrived on the scene, and somehow recalled hearing her call his name. It was almost like waking up from a hazy dream. After that, he saw pieces of other scenes. Yuugao lying on the ground, bleeding out. Watching Kakashi as he moved her away. His mother standing a few steps away from him, holding her hand out, with a pleading look in her eyes. After that he remembered talking to her briefly before it all went black. This was the first time he kept any memories when using the Kyuubi's power. Something happened, but he wasn't entirely sure what.

He slowly sat up from the bed, looking around once again. He was in one of the small wards of the medical building, the room they had designated for recovering patients. Since he only really needed bed rest to recover from the exertion of using Kyuubi's chakra, they had probably set him here so he wouldn't be disturbed. Plus, knowing Sakura and the traits she picked up from Tsunade, it was easier for her to mother-hen over him when he was within a minute's walk of her office.

Grunting, he shifted his torso so he could move his legs, letting them dangle off the side of the bed. This caused him to notice there was a small light on over by one of the other beds, but whoever occupied it was blocked by a curtain. The person who was there must have heard his grunt, because they asked a question, and it was a voice Naruto immediately recognized.

"Naruto, is that you?"

Quickly hopping down from the elevated medical bed, Naruto swiftly walked towards the other bed, stumbling as he went because his legs were rather stiff. "Yuugao-chan?! Are you okay?"

He hastily grabbed the curtain and pulled it back to see the woman lying on the bed. She was in the typical hospital garb, with her long violet hair tied back in a single ponytail. Upon seeing Naruto, she closed the book she was reading and offered him a gentle smile.

"Hey there. It's nice to see you're up and about. You were out for about eight hours... Sakura and Kushina have been in a frenzy."

A feeling of dread settled onto Naruto. The last time he had used four tails worth of the Kyuubi's chakra, he had only been knocked out for ten or fifteen minutes. But eight hours?

"How many tails?"

Yuugao looked at Naruto for a moment before sighing. "I don't understand the significance behind it, but they said you used five tails this time. Supposedly it is the most anyone has heard of or seen you using before."

The blond nodded slowly, grabbing a nearby chair and moving it next to Yuugao's bed. "The most I've ever used before is four tails. That was back when I was fighting Orochimaru. I don't remember any of that, though." Settling down in the chair, he looked at the woman he saw as a sister. "How is your wound?"

Yuugao smirked at him, then placed one of her hands over where she was stabbed. "It's a little tender and Sakura tells me there will be a faint scar, but it's a lot better than what I was expecting. I can't believe I let my guard down like that."

"I wasn't any better. I supposedly have these really good senses, but I didn't pick anything up until you had already been stabbed. I'm sorry." Naruto grimaced at the memory, recalling the look of pain and shock on Yuugao's face before she looked down at her stomach where the blade was sticking through.

"It's not your fault. He did something that made me go stiff right as he stabbed me, so I couldn't move to stop the bleeding. Not to mention that I'm fairly certain he was the one with the special ability to nullify chakra senses. Even your mother was venting to me about how annoying his ability was, and she's been using those sensory abilities for a lot longer than you."

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded slowly, he still felt incredibly guilty but there was no way Yuugao would let him win this argument. They both knew each other too well, and whenever it looked like he might win one, she would simply state that she was a decade older than him and had more experience. It was a cheap way to win one of their little contests, Naruto knew, but he had no reliable counter to that claim.

He jerked a little, opening his eyes as he felt one of Yuugao's hands in his hair, ruffling it. She had a curious little smirk on her face as she rubbed his head, it was an expression that Naruto had seen her use when she had something she was going to tease him with.

"Soooo... what's this I hear about you calling me neechan?"

Naruto blinked, trying to remember. When he did, he let out a light laugh that caused Yuugao's smirk to turn into a nice grin.

"It must have slipped out. I was desperate to know you were okay." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't seem surprised."

Yuugao brought her hand down a little from on top of his head. Using the underside of her thumb she gently pushed it along his cheek, causing his head to turn slightly. "I still think it's sweet that you think of me that way, Whiskers."

That particular nickname brought back several memories. She started calling him 'Whiskers' when he was younger, when he wanted to 'play ninja' with her. He seemed to get a kick out of having a codename that also related to his physical trait, so she continued to use it for a while - until he failed his first Academy graduation exam and then it only seemed to serve as a bitter reminder of his failure. She gradually stopped using it after that, unless she needed him to stop goofing off, and eventually he learned to pay close attention when it was used. Whenever she mentioned it now, it was as a term of endearment; a connection between the two of them that only they knew. But it still got his attention every time, regardless.

"Well, if it wasn't for some people being picky, it could have been legitimate."

The woman sighed and leaned back on her bed against the pillows that were stacked up behind her, closing her eyes. "Ever wonder what things might be like if it had gone through?"

"Not really."

Yuugao rapidly reopened her eyes and jerked her head in his direction with a totally flabbergasted expression. She was apparently stunned by his immediate answer. "What?! Why not?"

Naruto shrugged, but gave her a small smile. "Because even though it wasn't approved on paper, you were always there for me anyway. That's why."

Her facial expression evened out, but she still appeared perturbed. "I still could have been around more if it was official. I know you were as upset as I was by how little I could be around once I made jounin. My responsibilities changed completely. Sometimes I think others were pulling strings and trying to keep me away."

"Well, if they were or if they weren't, that's all in the past now. I'm still grateful for when you were there. Besides, after you became jounin, Iruka-sensei managed to keep me in line for the most part."

Yuugao laughed outright. "That poor, poor man. You were always well behaved around me, but I heard the stories about how you were a little hellion for everyone else. Though I think you were easier on Iruka than most of the other teachers."

Naruto smiled, reminiscing. He and Iruka butted heads constantly at first, especially during his first year of teaching. Iruka was a stickler for the rules, and Naruto was not a kid that liked to play by the rules. Many private one-on-one discussions later, and Naruto started to form something of a begrudging respect for the man, if nothing else. He was the first teacher Naruto had that actually seemed to _care_ how he was doing in school, which meant a lot to him. It wasn't until after Mizuki's betrayal that they really bonded, though.

As the silence extended between the two of them, Naruto took a moment to observe Yuugao. She was currently lying back again, breathing softly and looking out the window. Glancing down, he looked at the book she had stopped reading when he approached. A grin began to grow on his face.

"Icha Icha Paradise? Really?"

Yuugao let out something akin to a giggle before lifting the book and looking at it. "Yeah, I know what you're thinking. But I was bored, and Kakashi-senpai offered. For the first book in the series, it's actually not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm three quarters of the way through this book and there's only been two scenes that I'd classify as smut, it's more like a cheesy, perverted, romantic comedy novel. If Kakashi's laugh was a little more manly, people might not get the wrong idea about the series."

"Yeah, it gets a bit of a bad reputation because guys like to read it. Ero-sennin says that as soon as women see men reading a book with a questionable title, it must be smut."

Yuugao looked at him with both of her eyebrows arched high. "So I take it you've read them, then?"

"Don't tell anyone. It might ruin my reputation."

The purple haired jounin laughed at that comment, but winced and held her abdomen, causing her laughter to quiet down into small chortles mixed with grunts of pain. Naruto got up to make sure she was comfortable, but she waved him off. Not wanting to focus on her discomfort, he reluctantly sat back down and tried to continue the conversation.

"Ero-sennin had me edit some of his latest book, Icha Icha Tactics. He also wants me to help him co-write the one he's working on now, Icha Icha Fantasy. Supposedly he liked my potential pitch for the next book and wants us to work on it sometime."

Yuugao looked mildly surprised at this revelation, but before she or Naruto could say anything else, the door swung open from the other end of the room, and they both turned to watch as Yuna stepped in.

"Oh! Naruto-san, you're awake. That's good, now Sakura-san and your mother can stop worrying. How are you feeling?"

Naruto gave Yuna a nod as she entered the room. It had been a while since he'd seen her last, not that he knew the girl well, but he tried to keep tabs on most people who were working under him. "I'm fine. No worries here. I was going to be checking in with Sakura-chan in a little bit. Is she around?"

"I just left her office a moment ago. She looks tired, but refuses to sleep until you wake up. You might want to go visit her soon so she can get some sleep, she almost drained her chakra earlier, and needs rest to recover."

"Understood. How long will Yuugao-neechan be stuck here?"

Yuugao looked at Naruto with a small smile which he didn't see since his back was to her. Yuna noticed the smile, however, causing her to grin as she looked back and forth between them. "I'm under orders to keep her here for the night under observation. If she's looking well enough tomorrow morning, I'm sure Sakura will sign off on her release."

"Sounds good." He turned to look at Yuugao over his shoulder. "You want me to come back and visit later? Since I slept most of the day, I'm likely going to be up all night."

"If you want to, though my eyes are starting to burn... I'm probably going to take a nap soon."

"Okay. Rest well." That said, he gave both of the women a smile and excused himself from the room.

* * *

A gentle knock on the door caused Sakura's eyes to snap open and pick her head up from where it was resting on her desk, though she was obviously having a hard time staying awake. She got up very early yesterday morning, and used a considerable amount of chakra healing injuries and monitoring both Naruto and Yuugao when they got back from the fight. The other medics were telling her constantly that she could have left some of the duties up to them, especially Yuna. But where Yuugao and Naruto were concerned - especially Naruto - she wasn't about to leave their status up to anyone else right now. Not that she didn't trust her staff, she just felt better doing it herself.

Another knock on the door, louder this time, snapped her from her thoughts. "Sorry, come in."

Her eyes widened as she saw Naruto walk through the door, and before he even closed it behind him the girl had launched herself over her desk and enveloped him in a giant hug.

"Whoa! Hey there, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry if I scared you."

Sakura had the side of her head pressed against his. Since he was unable to find his jacket in the ward, he was only wearing his mesh shirt; it didn't take long for him to feel the tears against the skin of his shoulder.

"Sakura?"

He heard her sniffle and clear her throat before she started talking, and she shifted her head so that her forehead and eyes were resting against his jawbone and neck. Her hot breath was blowing across his collarbone as she spoke, ironically giving him the chills - though this was definitely not a good time to act on any impulses those chills might have otherwise wrought.

"I wasn't just scared, I was terrified. You've never gone five tailed before... and you just woke up now, after eight hours. I didn't know... I don't... what if you... you..." Her voice broke off as a sob wracked her body, and Naruto held her tighter. He felt her arms squeeze around him in response, and they just stood there for several long moments holding each other.

Eventually Sakura backed away from the hug, rubbing her eyes. "Sorry. I was trying to say... I didn't know what to do if you didn't wake up. I couldn't find anything wrong with you, but you wouldn't wake up, even when we used smelling salts."

Naruto winced, that sounded rather serious. He was essentially in a coma. "Should I send a message to Tsunade-baachan, see if she knows anything?"

Sakura bit her lower lip and looked down for a moment, wringing her hands in front of her. "You can, but I don't know what she'd say. Your mom wasn't upset like I was, but she seemed to think you'd be fine. She couldn't explain why, and it was driving me crazy! Even Rin checked you and believed you'd be fine!"

Naruto's lips curved into a small grin as he saw Sakura act agitated and pout at him. This was a side of her he hardly ever got to see, where things weren't going her way and she didn't agree with other's opinions, nor could she fathom why they were thinking the way they were.

"Maybe they just believed in me, and it worked?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that I don't believe in you?"

He held his hands up. "No, not like that. I'm just saying that maybe they believed I'd wake up. Which I did. They weren't going to try to come up with some medical explanation yet, but just wanted to believe that I'd wake up on my own."

His girlfriend growled and gave him a look of irritation that showed she didn't necessarily agree with his line of thinking.

"Sakura-chan, when was the last time you slept?"

She immediately stopped growling, but frowned and slowly looked away. "Over twenty-four hours ago."

Naruto tried to giver her a gentle smile. "So maybe the lack of sleep, plus the fact that you've used a lot of chakra today, has made you a little bit irrational. Not that I don't appreciate your concern, I'm concerned too. But I'm wide awake now, so we can talk about it plenty once you've had at least some sleep."

At first she looked like she wanted to argue, but apparently changed her mind and looked towards him again, head hanging forward a little so that her bangs covered her eyes. She frowned and let out a sigh, then slowly took the few steps forward to close the distance between them. Letting her arms dangle, she slowly rested her forehead against his chest and mumbled something that he couldn't quite hear.

"Sorry, what did you say? I only heard a mumble."

She leaned back slowly, looking up at him with a pout, but her hands were still gripping the front of his mesh shirt. "Carry me to bed? Please? Otherwise I'll just collapse on my desk."

Naruto chuckled and bent forward quickly, giving her a brief peck on the lips. She simply blinked, and started to say something before Naruto scooped her up bridal style, to which her speech turned into a startled 'eep!'.

"I think I'll just take you over to the ward instead of the barracks. The beds are more comfortable there, plus you won't have to worry about being woken up from a lot of noise as others wake up and move around."

Sakura didn't object, simply closing her eyes and resting her head against his shoulder as he took her back towards the room he woke up in.

* * *

"You're overextending Hanabi-chan. You don't want to lock your elbow, stop just before that. Watch me."

Naruto was silently thanking Tsunade for only giving him one apprentice as he went through the motions of some of the basic Academy courses. Luckily Hanabi was already up when he was walking through the barracks this morning before the sun was even up, so he decided to pull her aside to talk and perhaps get in some first lessons as her sensei. He could only imagine what it would be like to train three students compared to the one he got.

Fortunately, Hyuuga Hanabi was a good listener. Unfortunately, she also had a mouth and a strong opinion. She had almost been exclusively trained in the Hyuuga's renown taijutsu style, the Gentle Fist. That was all she knew. Virtually all Hyuuga thumbed their noses at standard ninjutsu, and only a handful of them used genjutsu to enhance their taijutsu. However, Naruto also quickly realized that Hanabi was nowhere near Neji's level in taijutsu either.

Hanabi was being trained personally by her father when he had free time. Apparently he had very little of that, as most of his time that he had free was spent training Hinata to the brink of exhaustion - since Neji had made jounin rank, he didn't have nearly as much time to train with them anymore. Hinata had long since taken pity on her sister and volunteered to teach what she was learning, and while Hanabi was a quick study, she was humble enough to understand that while she learned combat faster than her sister, Hinata picked up on the aspects of leadership and politics much faster than her. Hinata was taking many lessons other than combat related ones since she was the heir apparent to the Hyuuga clan. So even though she was instilled with the Hyuuga-sense to virtually ignore all combat methods taught at school, she was not being taught the Hyuuga style at a decent pace either. She had been through many tutors, but apparently none of them lasted for very long because of the twelve year-old's mouth. Naruto wasn't sure what she meant by that when she had told him about it, since she had been nothing but polite to him. Blushing, Hanabi looked away and told him to mind his own business, so he just shrugged and tried to ignore it.

As a result, Naruto felt it best to make sure she knew the basics. At first they argued for a good half an hour about it, until Naruto struck a chord when he said he just wanted to teach Hanabi, not Hyuuga Hanabi. She had stared at him with completely wide eyes for several long moments before succumbing to total confusion and asking him what he meant. He tried to explain that it seemed like she had been indoctrinated since birth towards a specific way of thinking, which she reluctantly agreed with. So he said he just wanted her to forget that she had anything to do with the Hyuuga. When they were training, she was just Hanabi. That caused her to blush again, but she didn't speak out this time, and simply started following his instruction.

After getting her to agree, Naruto started with what he could remember back from the Academy, the very basics. He knew that it was going to be hard for her, having been doing the Gentle Fist for so long, it relied on completely precise strikes with no room for error; the enemy had no chance to block. Virtually all other taijutsu styles revolved around flexibility, being able to attack while leaving enough room to possibly block or counter should there be a need. Hanabi kept extending her arms and legs completely with each practice strike. It was the first thing she needed to change.

He could only imagine if the girl was on a team. He'd have to talk to Neji the next time he saw the quiet jounin and ask him how he managed all this time.

"Very good. I don't want to stick you with doing nothing but reps, but for now, I might have to until you commit it to muscle memory."

Hanabi gave him an inquisitive look. "Muscle memory? It sounds familiar, but..."

"Yeah, that's something Ero-sen... I mean Jiraiya-sensei taught me. Once you do something enough, the muscles in your body remember the movement, and eventually you can do some things automatically without having to think about it."

Hanabi groaned, continuing to go through katas as Naruto just finished showing her. The blond stood there silently and watched her form. She was good at flowing through most of the moves, but her stance was awkward... most likely because it was just something she wasn't used to. She claimed to pick up on things fast, so Naruto had to settle with the wait and see approach. If he could break her out of some of her habits now, he was curious to see what she could manage by combining the Byakugan with some other taijutsu styles. Unfortunately he wasn't known for being up to par with his taijutsu either, he was more of an impromptu grapple style brawler, but it worked well when used in conjunction with shadow clones. He only remembered the basic academy instructions because of how eager he was at the time to start training to be a shinobi. Yuugao might have had a small hand in his development as well, as he continued to reminisce.

"Oh, Naruto-sensei, is there anything you can teach me today?"

Being pulled from his thoughts, Naruto turned his head to the left to see Kakashi approaching, both hands in his pockets. He heard Hanabi giggle slightly, so instead of scowling at his teacher he put on a smile.

"Naruto-sensei? So you finally admit I'm the teacher now, huh?"

Kakashi gave Naruto one of his 'eye-smiles' as he approached, but said nothing further about it. Instead he started watching Hanabi go through her moves over and over. "Oho, a Hyuuga doing basic Academy taijutsu?"

This time Hanabi scowled slightly, but she didn't stop her movement, and Naruto couldn't help but applaud her in his mind. Kakashi was good at getting people riled up to find their weaknesses, but luckily Hanabi had been schooled very well in that regard. As a result, she was a bit arrogant, but Naruto was silently hoping that would fade with time as he spent more time training her.

"We're going back to basics, I already explained to her that it will be easier that way. She can do the Hyuuga style in her own time, perhaps getting pointers from Hinata or even Neji, if I can get in touch with him. She already knows how to walk up trees, but can't walk on water yet, so I know where to start with chakra control and ninjutsu."

If Kakashi was impressed, he didn't show it. "Sounds like you've really thought this through. I'm eager to see the results."

Naruto nodded. "I think all of us are." For some reason, his last conversation with Hyuuga Hiashi was pounding on his conscience.

"I won't... let you down... Naruto-sensei." Hanabi breathed heavily as she continued her movements, but by her expression, she meant every word she said. He was happy with her determination, though in a deep corner of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder if someone - particularly her father - told her to do everything that she was instructed to do. On the other hand, she had argued with him about what she would be learning, but it still nagged at him regardless.

"Anyway, I was searching for you to see what you wanted to do about the Sound shinobi we managed to drag back here, and let you know that the Mist delegation left for Konoha while you were knocked out yesterday. I went ahead and wrote up a report and had them take it to Tsunade-sama as well, since they were going in that direction."

"Thanks. Where are the shinobi restrained?"

Kakashi scratched at the back of his head. "Ah, well you see, since we don't really have any containment cells... we have them locked up in the storage shed."

Naruto laughed out loud, causing Hanabi to stop what she was doing and blink at him. He waved her off. "We've been out here for a few hours, go ahead and take a break Hanabi-chan. I'll come find you later."

"Yes, Naruto-sensei." Hanabi gave him a quick bow then scampered off towards the barracks. The two jounin watched her get a decent distance away before Naruto broke the silence.

"Have any of them spoken?"

Kakashi shook his head negatively. "Not yet. Jun and two of the other chuunin on our roster are watching them, but no one has been able to get them to talk. I'm no expert when it comes to interrogation either, and the closest thing we have to an interrogation specialist is Ino, with her mind techniques."

"I'd rather not have this all rest on Ino's shoulders."

"Me either. We could send them to Konoha with an escort. I'm sure Anko is bored back home."

Naruto couldn't suppress the shiver that worked its way up his spine. He had no issues with the snake summoner, but sometimes the way she acted was downright creepy. She seemed to hold some kind of respect for him after the Chuunin Exams and the few missions they went on together. Whenever he did notice her, however, she was _always_ looking at him. Not really in a good or bad way, but mostly just seemed to be observing. He tried not to think about it too much.

"I'd rather not subject them to _that_ just yet. I've had another plan that I spent all night last night thinking about, and talked to Yuugao-neechan about it some as well. She thinks it's a good idea, but I need to clarify a few things with my mom first."

"So what's your plan?" His voice was rife with curiosity. However, Naruto just shook his head again.

"Like I said, I need to clarify some things with my mom first. If she tells me what I need to hear, then I'll explain it to you. Otherwise it would just be a waste of time."

Kakashi didn't look too pleased about being left in the dark, even if it was only temporarily. "Alright, I guess. You are the boss. I'll probably be in the mess hall if you get back sometime soon, Rin mentioned something about meeting me for a late breakfast there."

Naruto's ears perked up at that. "You two working things out?"

Kakashi shrugged, but a smile was easily visible from behind his mask. "We're taking things a day at a time, but I think things are looking good. Ask me again in a week and we'll probably be back to square one."

Naruto grinned at his old sensei, but shook his head and sighed. He gave Kakashi's shoulder a pat before turning away and walking towards the remains of the old Whirlpool Village. "Give me a couple hours. I'll explain my plan then, if my mom agrees to it."

* * *

Listening to the sound of gravel crunching under his feet, Naruto looked around the ruins of Whirlpool Village as he headed for the Whirlpool itself. Once they returned from the Hidden Leaf, his mother had inquired about making steps towards the restoration of the village proper. He had told her the exact same thing he mentioned to the council previously, as long as she wasn't keeping anyone from their duties to the Outpost, she could ask whoever she wanted.

He had to guess it helped that she was technically the leader of Whirlpool Village, no one hesitated when she asked for things from any of the other Uzumaki. Even when she asked for help from those who arrived from elsewhere, they agreed to help without complaint once their assigned duties were taken care of. The first thing they did was clear out a lot of the overgrown brush from where one of the main paths used to be, then covered it in a thin layer of gravel. It made sense to have a path going directly from the Outpost to where Whirlpool was.

He passed a chuunin who was chatting with three civilians as they were observing plans while staring at others who were clearing up one of the ruined buildings. Upon approach, the chuunin quickly snapped to attention, offering him a steady salute. Naruto couldn't keep the grin off his face as the three civilians glanced at the chuunin, then saluted him as well. Salutes were very rare among shinobi, most of the time they settled for quick bows, if even that. Salutes were usually reserved for the various Lords' military forces. That the civilians followed suit only made it more amusing. Perhaps this particular chuunin had relatives that were in the standard military, he only really knew the names and faces of the people that were working under him.

"Whoa there, take it easy. I'm not here for an inspection or anything, I was just on my way to see Kushina-sama. I thought I'd stop by and see how things are going."

"They're going faster than we thought, Uzumaki-taichou." The chuunin visibly relaxed, as did the three civilians. "The workers are currently removing anything that isn't wood. Anything that is wood turns to ash rather quickly with a few simple katon jutsus. We're keeping metal separate to melt it down and potentially reuse it later."

Naruto nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. Keep it up, this place will be great again in no time."

The chuunin tossed him another salute, along with a grin. "You bet, Uzumaki-taichou. See you later."

Naruto waved and started walking away. This was his first time walking through the area as they were doing work on it, but even from the last time he passed through, he could easily see things were quickly changing. Many of the ruins that had been close to the path he was walking along had been cleaned away. A few still had piles of junk that hadn't been discarded yet, but some of the plots of land that were in more advanced stages had the entire foundation excavated. Apparently part one of what they were doing was simple clean up work, and the actual construction would come later. The civilians he saw earlier were probably just confirming the plans for what was eventually going to be built there.

A barely noticeable tug on his senses made Naruto turn his head back towards the path, to where the Whirlpool itself was quickly approaching. His mother used her connection with Whirlpool to check on him several times every day, so he was used to the minor tug as her senses connected with his. He never asked why she did it, because it was likely that he already knew the answer. She just wanted to make sure of his presence. After not being able to be around him for sixteen years, it was understandable if she had moments of insecurity when they couldn't be around each other. She used her special ability to make sure that he was still around, that's all. If that's all it took to make his mother content, Naruto was more than happy to oblige.

He felt another tug, stronger this time, so he knew that she was aware of his approach. She was probably just confirming that he was as close as he really was to her location. Almost as a confirmation itself, he saw a splash from Whirlpool, and his mother appeared from the middle of it. As he approached the pond itself, he watched her walk across the water to dry land, then stopped at the edge as someone talked to her. Surprised he didn't notice the other person, he quickly understood when he noticed it was his older cousin, Keiji. If there was one thing he had learned about the man, other than the fact that he had a very sour attitude about Konoha, it was that the man could hide better than almost anyone else he knew. It was likely because of the technique where the older man literally turned himself into a moving puddle of water.

Moving over to the duo, his mother and cousin stopped talking, both turning to him. Keiji offered a small smile with a nod, which Naruto returned, only to then be engulfed in a hug by his mother.

"So what made you decide to come visit your dear mother today? Did you think I was desperate for my son's attention?" Kushina looked up at her son with a big grin and a twinkle in her eyes.

Not rising to the bait, Naruto decided to play along. "Aren't you always desperate for my attention?" He offered a grin right back, to which he heard Keiji chuckle as his mother stuck her tongue out at him.

"Spoilsport."

"Not really, I just missed out on all those years where I was supposed to give you a hard time. So I'm doing it now."

Kushina rolled her eyes and swatted at his shoulder, but then gave him a serious look. "So what brings you out here, really? It's not like you to leave the Outpost in the middle of the day if it isn't an emergency."

"It's about those shinobi that were captured yesterday. I've got a plan, but I had some questions for you first."

He saw his mother's eyebrow twitch upward as he mentioned the captured shinobi, but she remained silent until he finished asking his question.

"Yes and no. We had forehead protectors, but only the crafting branch really used them. While the scouts were out on missions, they didn't wear any, so any potential hostile actions couldn't be traced back to the village. At least not easily."

Naruto looked confused. "So why did the crafting branch wear them, then? They never left the village, right?"

Kushina opened her mouth to reply, but Keiji beat her to the punch. "We weren't scouts, but we still knew how to fight. We were responsible for the defense of the village, so we wore our forehead protectors with pride."

"That makes sense. Did you have one?"

Keiji was quiet for a moment as both Naruto and Kushina watched him, but he eventually nodded and reached into a pouch that was attached to his belt. It didn't take long for him to pull a piece of metal out of the pouch, and he held a rather neutral expression on his face as he handed it over to Naruto.

Naruto took it carefully, the metal was the same size as the one that his Leaf symbol was emblazoned onto. But the side he was looking at was dull and blank, so he flipped it over. The spiral symbol on it was similar to the one that was on the back of their jounin vests, but this spiral started out smaller in the center and got larger towards the outside. It also looped twice, compared to the one loop on his. After examining the swirl for several long seconds, Naruto nodded to himself, then turned an inquisitive eye towards his mother.

"So your Priest Branch didn't wear this either?"

Kushina closed her eyes briefly as if thinking back, then quickly shook her head and looked at her son. "Not on any of the priests that I can remember. We simply had the Whirlpool spiral embroidered on all of our vests. Though our vests weren't nearly as bulky as yours are."

Nodding at her explanation, Naruto looked up at the sky for a moment, thinking about what he had learned regarding the Whirlpool's symbol. It was apparently respected and protected a little better than he originally thought it might have been, but since his mother and cousin were technically the only two elders of Whirlpool left, they might be willing to reason with him and the plan he had been thinking up.

Handing the protector back to Keiji, he began to explain what he had been thinking of ever since he got back from Konoha. He had actually been thinking about it long before then, but knew that it would take some deep thought and careful explanation for people to believe he could pull it off. He needed permission to use the Whirlpool symbol, and that would only be the first step. Naruto carefully explained what he would use it for, what it would mean, and what he hoped to accomplish. Kushina appeared surprised but pleased for the entire duration of his explanation, while Keiji seemed a little more grim, but still accepting.

"I like your idea, but I'm concerned how much attention that will bring to Whirlpool. You'll be walking a fine line between great success and potential catastrophe for a while, and I don't want to see my home disappear again."

Naruto sighed, acknowledging the point. "I thought about that too, but I'd put my life on the line before I let anything happen to this place again. If you don't want me to do it, that's fine, but I wanted your permission before I even start. I think this is the only chance I'll have at this point in time to make a big impact."

"When would the next chance be, or will there be another one?" Kushina looked thoughtful, if nothing else. Naruto couldn't tell if she had any concerns, but if she did, he'd be sure to pry them out later.

"If I become Hokage, it's a possibility then. But it would probably be more difficult. Yuugao-neechan thinks that a resurrected Whirlpool would be a good symbol to rally around, for people to remember... so that it doesn't happen again. I agree with her, but we both said it won't be possible without the support of the Uzumaki. All of them."

Kushina and Keiji looked at each other, then they both nodded at the same time.

"I'll go gather the rest of the clan. They should all have a say about this. It will affect their home, after all."

"Sounds good. I'll try to drag more details out of my son, and we'll discuss this together."

Keiji slipped off, and Kushina turned to Naruto, expression grim this time. "We're putting a lot of faith in you, and I'm sure the rest of the clan will agree. I am curious though, I always thought you wanted to be Hokage?"

"I do..."

"I sense a 'but' coming."

Chuckling, Naruto nodded and continued, "... but right now, I think I can do more good for more people if I don't become Hokage any time soon. It's still my dream to be Hokage, but before I wanted it so others would respect me. Now... I feel like I already have their respect, I just want to protect them. Doing this is the fastest way to accomplish that."

Kushina giggled, then pulled Naruto into a brief hug. "Well, that's very noble of you. Especially what you're thinking about doing now. I'm sure the rest of the clan will be behind what you want to do. Peace is a concept most of us can only dream of."

"Do you really think I can do it?"

Kushina gave Naruto one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen on her face.

"Of course! It's a parent's job to believe in their child!"

* * *

The three shinobi from the Sound Village were aching all over from being kept in the same position sitting against the wall for so long, wondering what the Leaf shinobi were going to do with them. The one - Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja - had tried to talk to them several times, very politely, but they had all refused to speak. None of the three were stupid, they knew that they'd be tortured eventually, but none of the three wanted to talk first out of fear that they'd look weak to their comrades. Every shinobi had their pride, and none of them wanted to lose theirs. Even if the rumors were true and Orochimaru-sama really was dead, none of them wanted to risk it. If the Leaf didn't kill them, Orochimaru-sama definitely would.

All three of them looked up the moment the door opened, as did the two Leaf chuunin who were guarding them. They watched as a blond boy entered, but he couldn't have been any older than eighteen. The three of them looked at each other with no small amount of trepidation when their two guards immediately stood up, bowed at the blond, then promptly left the room. The other ninja who had talked to them before, Hatake Kakashi, was following behind the blond at a distance. He closed the door after the two chuunin left, then leaned back casually against the wall next to the door, arms crossed over his chest.

There was no doubt in any of their minds now that this blond teenager was the person in charge. How he made it this far at his age, none of them could fathom, but what it could mean for their health was certainly among all of their worries. Most people they knew didn't advance quickly by being nice.

"So I'm going to guess that none of you are willing to talk yet?"

Once again all three of them looked at each other, and the one in the middle - the sole jounin and de-facto leader of their trio - shook his head negatively. To their surprise, the blond merely grinned a little.

"On one side, I'm rather disappointed that none of you are willing to talk. It might have made this whole ordeal a little bit easier, especially if we could understand your motives for attacking my people." Against the wall, Kakashi shifted slightly, but otherwise didn't move. The blond was running his fingers along the back of a chair that had been vacated by one of the guards before he arrived. "If I really wanted to, I could send you directly to Konoha to face an interrogation, and I'd be well within my right. I'm sure you all have heard of Morino Ibiki, and perhaps Orochimaru's old apprentice, Mitarashi Anko? I'm certain they'd love to get their hands on some shinobi from the Sound Village."

They were all shifting uncomfortably now, it was even easy to hear the ragged breathing of one of them in the quiet shed. The blond chuckled lightly, putting them all on edge, then casually unzipped his jacket. Removing it, he placed it on the back of the chair he was touching earlier, leaving him in just his mesh shirt on top. Grabbing the chair, he moved it over towards the three of them, but turned it backwards. Setting it down, he straddled the chair, letting his arms rest on the top of it, then placed his chin on his arms and scanned the three of them carefully.

"On the other hand, I'm pleased that none of you talked. It means that you are trustworthy, and willing to undergo possible torture and humiliation to protect your comrades. That's what it means to be a shinobi."

The three Sound shinobi looked among each other again, this time confusion was clearly etched in their faces. All of them were wondering if this blond was trying to use some sort of reverse psychology to get them to open up. By being nice and becoming their friends, they might have been more willing to talk. But even that was one of the lessons given to all shinobi - to watch out for 'friendly enemies'.

"I know what you're thinking. No, I'm not trying to be your friend. I have no love for Orochimaru, but I also know that he would be willing to take in anyone that was willing to work for him. So I can't claim to know your circumstances. I get a kick out of pretending to be stupid sometimes, and that works to my advantage. Right now, though, I'm being completely serious. I'm trying to start something good, and depending on the reactions of you three, it will likely determine the response I'll get from others."

All three shinobi were still clearly confused, but their rigid postures had since relaxed, and were all staring at him with rapt attention.

"First I should probably start with an introduction. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. You may have heard of me as one of the old teammates of Uchiha Sasuke."

At the mentioning of Sasuke's name, the three of them tensed up once again, possibly even more so than before. Naruto couldn't hide the small smile on his face. Apparently Sasuke did tell the truth, he did remove Orochimaru. These three probably wouldn't have reacted the way they did if he didn't.

"I'm currently the Captain of the Whirlpool Outpost, where you are now. I'm also the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki."

Three pairs of eyes went wide. The eyes of the two junior shinobi were obviously full of fear, but the eyes of the senior seemed more surprised and calculating.

"S-So that was-"

One of the Sound shinobi started to talk, but was immediately silenced when faced with a sharp stare from the other two. Naruto, however, knew what he was probably thinking and decided to nod and grin. "That horrible power that you felt before? Yeah, that was me. I don't really like to use it if I can help it, because I have a hard time controlling it. But it only surfaces when I get angry, so I'm sure none of you will have anything to worry about."

He heard a grunt from the senior of the group, and then the man looked him directly in the eyes. "All right, you win. What do you want to know?"

"H-Hey! What do you mea-"

"Shut up! Didn't you feel that chakra? If we make him angry, we won't be tortured, we'll be killed! I won't let you guys die if I can help it!"

"Yes... sir."

Both of the other two didn't look happy, but were sufficiently cowed. The senior shinobi nodded, more to himself than anyone else, then turned back to Naruto. "Ask away."

Naruto, meanwhile, only smiled a little at their exchange. His anger bluff had worked, and while he was happy to know that the shinobi wanted to protect the lives of his comrades, at the same time it helped him understand just how horrible the chakra of the Kyuubi must feel to others. Since the Kyuubi's chakra was constantly running through his system in small amounts, he was immune to its effects. To hear it spoken about so bluntly stung just a little.

The smile turned into a frown, and Naruto sighed as he shook his head. "Honestly, I hope you'll be willing to part with that information of your own volition soon enough, without me having to threaten you. I actually came here for another reason, but I wanted to see what you three were like before I offered."

"Offer? I don't understand."

The blond let a big grin cross his face for a moment, then looked at the three of them one by one. They were all hanging on his every word.

"I have a proposition for all of you. I'd like to offer you a job."

* * *

**A/N:** To understand the differences between the Leaf's spiral and Whirlpool's spiral, you can do a tiny amount of research if you wish. The spiral that the leaf uses is called the Archimedean/Arithmetic Spiral. The Whirlpool spiral is called the Logarithmic Spiral. Wikipedia has sample pictures of both, if you want to see for yourselves.

Some of you may also have noticed towards the beginning of the chapter how I put in a very small cameo of another author's work, DigiFruit. If you know what I'm talking about, and you haven't read that story yet, you should.

Up next: Unwanted Attention

Edited: March 21st, 2001


	26. Unwanted Attention

Chapter 26

Halting his momentum from the run, Naruto slowed to a stop behind the shinobi he was following. As the man turned around to look at him, the symbol of the Sound emblazoned on his forehead protector momentarily reflected a glare from the afternoon sun into Naruto's azure eyes, making him wince.

"We're here. The lot of you should wait while I go get a status update. I don't need them to see Leaf symbols and cause an incident. Especially if you want what you're offering to work."

Naruto nodded, understanding completely. The line of trust between them was obviously thin, but that he had even managed to establish any trust at all was a feat all by itself.

* * *

"_So let me get this straight. You want us to betray our village and join you instead?" The jounin's voice was dripping with sarcasm at this point. The other two sound chuunin who were tied up next to him had expressions that were a mix between curiosity and fear._

_Naruto, however, was frowning while shaking his head negatively. "No, you're still going to be a part of Sound, but you will be working for me as well. That is my plan."_

_The jounin was silent for a while, likely trying to wrap his head around what exactly Naruto was offering to him._

"_I don't see how it would be possible to work for Sound and Leaf at the same time."_

_Once again, Naruto was shaking his head. "Sorry, I'll try to clarify this as much as I can. You won't be working for Leaf. Technically Leaf doesn't even know I'm planning this."_

_All three shinobi were looking at him incredulously now. Their gazes were flickering back and forth between him and Kakashi, who hadn't moved from his place near the door. That Kakashi made no movement to show any kind of surprise at this statement showed that he already knew what Naruto had planned. While the Sound jounin did not know the blond haired boy, he knew the Copy Ninja. Since the man had made no movement to show that he disagreed with what Naruto was doing, he had to assume that the Copy Ninja respected whatever it was the blond was trying to do. That in and of itself spoke volumes._

_The jounin grunted. "All right, kid. Lay it on me. I'll listen to you completely explain this offer, I have to admit I'm curious."_

_That was apparently the correct action to take, as Kakashi decided to go sit down in one of the previously vacated chairs. Meanwhile, Naruto was literally beaming at them._

"_I'm glad you're agreeing. I know I'll have to earn Sound's trust, but hopefully it will come. With Orochimaru being dead, you guys might need the help, since I know Lightning Country is on the move and you're in it's path."_

"_You sure know a lot, kid."_

_Naruto grinned. "I've picked up a lot of tricks from one of my sensei in the past, Jiraiya of the Densetsu no Sannin."_

_The eyes of the three shinobi all bugged out, everyone knew who the Sannin were. Orochimaru was one of them, and though the snake summoner never specifically mentioned or relied on the fact that he was a member of the group, everyone still knew about it regardless._

_The jounin was glad that he had decided to go with this... Naruto's... plan. It was now obvious that there was quite a bit more to this kid than met the eye. So far they knew that he was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and was trained by one of the Sannin. Not only that, he had the respect of the Copy Ninja. Who knew what else he might be able to claim?_

"_Anyway, with what I have planned, you will still be registered as members of the Sound. However, you'll also be working for Whirlpool at the same time."_

"_Whirlpool? I thought what was left of that country was annexed by Fire Country some twenty-odd years ago?"_

_Naruto shrugged. "Most of it. Fire annexed everything south of the river where the old Whirlpool Village was located. Everything north technically belongs to Swamp Country, though since Swamp has no official government, it is just assumed to be their land. Whirlpool is now being reformed; I told you earlier that we are at the Whirlpool Outpost."_

_The jounin nodded, remembering. "So I guess that means the Uzumaki survived? You said you were one of them, and I doubt you'd be doing this by yourself."_

_Grinning, Naruto nodded. "There's a few of us, yeah. This was originally just going to be an Outpost to try and deter Lightning Country from even looking this way during their current rampage, but it's become something much bigger than that."_

_Leaning his head back against the wall, the senior Sound shinobi of the captured trio closed his eyes for a few seconds, but continued talking while keeping the same pose._

"_So if you're rebuilding Whirlpool, why do you need us? I'm sure you can find plenty of volunteers from the nearby villages."_

"_We can, but that's not the point. Tell me, do you ever think about peace?"_

_The jounin slowly opened his eyes, leaning forward and giving Naruto a piercing gaze. "Of course I do. I'm sure most shinobi do in their own way. I'd like for nothing more than to know my family will never be threatened by anyone or anything. But I accepted long ago that they would never be safe so long as others are greedy. Greed will always exist, and a prime example is what's happening right now with Lightning Country."_

"_Yes, and the daimyo needs to be stopped. That's why I'll need your help, and that of all the other villages. I'm going to be using Whirlpool as a base for a peacekeeping force, made up of shinobi who are on loan from their home villages. If Sound accepts, you will be the first village to do so. I don't think I'll have any trouble getting acceptance from Leaf, or Sand for that matter."_

_"Very well, but I doubt it will be easy to convince those in charge. Shit, I don't even know if they've figured out who to put in charge yet. We only heard rumors about Orochimaru-sama's death, and Kabuto-san and Sasuke-san could not be located. A scout reported seeing Uchiha Sasuke heading away to the east, so a few of us formed a squad to track him to get confirmation. It took longer than we expected to get the squad together as we had no clear line of leadership and were in a bit of disarray. Since it hadn't rained, we found it easy for our tracker to follow his trail."_

_"That's when you encountered my people and attacked them."_

_It was more of a statement than a question. If the jounin was chagrined in any way, he didn't show it. His gaze did not waver, either, and he spoke with complete confidence. "I'm afraid it was standard procedure. Everyone in Sound knew of Sasuke-san's previous affiliation, and if Orochimaru-sama really was dead, we had to proceed as if he was a Leaf agent until we could get confirmation. We encountered the group that contained the Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi as we were tracking the path Sasuke-san had taken. Some of my old squad mates attacked before we could gain a group consensus. The three of us are all that is left as a result of that lapse in judgment."_

_Naruto sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "I don't like what happened, but as a shinobi, I do understand the procedure. The only one of our group to sustain an injury is healed now, but it would mean a lot to me and our new... partnership... if you would apologize to her on behalf of Sound."_

_The jounin opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it quickly and pressed his lips into a fine line. Inhaling sharply through his nose, he nodded quickly. "Very well. I will."_

_Naruto smiled. "Good..." Pausing, Naruto looked at him strangely for a second. "I'm sorry, I just realized that you have me at a bit of a disadvantage. I don't know your name."_

_"You can just call me Hibiki. It's not my real name, but everyone calls me that anyway."_

_"You got it, Hibiki-san." Naruto got up from the chair, walking over to the trio. "I'll untie your binds, and offer you a bunk to stay for the night. Tomorrow we'll head towards the Sound Village and make my offer. Sadly, as a security precaution, I'll have to keep you three under observation until we leave and the partnership is officially approved."_

_Hibiki nodded as he felt his binds loosen, then began rubbing his wrists were the bindings dug into them. "Understood. I wouldn't expect anything less."_

* * *

"It seems that there is still no formal leadership of the village yet, but the leading jounins have formed a council of sorts. They've agreed to listen to what you're asking if you help us out first."

Naruto shrugged as he watched Hibiki walk casually over to their group, knowing that it was likely there would be a catch of some sort. "What do I need to do?"

"It seems that Lightning Country mercenaries have been making random forays into Rice Field Country along our northern border. Reports indicate that one of our border forts has been fighting constant skirmishes with various groups hired by Lightning. There are also reports of Kumo shinobi, but so far they have not been participating in the strikes, and have been acting more or less as observers."

"So where do I come in? Some sort of relief?"

Hibiki nodded. "From what I gather, this is a test that they concocted. To see if you really mean to follow through with this desire of yours. If you want to form a peacekeeping force that badly, you'll help us protect our land as a show of good faith."

"Of course I'll help. I might be able to dig for some information while I'm up there. When do we leave?"

Hibiki looked over Naruto's shoulder towards the rest of their group. The two Sound chuunin were still with them, as well as two of Naruto's chuunin guards from leaf who were picked by Kakashi to escort him. Kushina wanted Kakashi himself to go, but the man refused, stating that his participation was likely to worsen any chances of Naruto's plan succeeding. After Kakashi shot down his participation, Sakura volunteered to go with him, but this time Naruto told her no. He stood a better chance of success if he was the only one who went, because he only had to worry about his own safety, and a large group of them was likely to draw too much suspicion.

Kakashi had shot that idea down as well, and told Naruto that he'd grab two reliable chuunin who were at the outpost to send with him. Originally Naruto rejected this, but after a short argument that ended up being everyone against him, he reluctantly agreed to bring along two others. He didn't know the Leaf chuunin well at all. He recognized their faces but didn't remember their names until Kakashi introduced them. They were polite and had followed his orders to the letter up until now, so he had no complaints. They had also struck up conversation with the two Sound chuunin, which was a good thing in the long run.

"We can leave now if the other four are ready."

Turning slightly so he could look over his shoulder, he noticed the other four shinobi nod.

"Alright then, let's get a move on. The border fort isn't far from here, we should be there in just over an hour. Let's stick to the roads if we can, though - farmers tend to get pissy if we trample through their fields."

* * *

They arrived at the fort at what ended up being just under an hour. The fort itself wasn't what Naruto would really have called a 'fort', it was more or less a series of large stone walls that were arranged in a pentagonal shape. There were holes all throughout those walls, however, and the Sound shinobi had a makeshift camp set up in the middle of them. Doing a quick head count, Naruto could only see perhaps twenty shinobi, if that. There were a handful of others present, but none of them carried themselves like ninja, so they were probably civilians who were bringing supplies or helping to heal any wounded. It wasn't uncommon for civilians to hang around forts either, they had already gotten quite a few visitors at Whirlpool.

"You there... what are you doing here?"

Naruto stopped, as did Hibiki and the four chuunin with them. Turning to look, he saw an older man approaching them in full shinobi battle gear. He had one arm in a makeshift sling, so he had probably been out in combat recently. Naruto opened his mouth to introduce himself, but he felt Hibiki's hand on his shoulder and immediately closed it. Turning to look at the jounin, he saw Hibiki shake his head at him, then move up towards the other man and give him a quick bow.

"Forgive me for not seeking you out first, taichou. We come from the Sound Village with information, as well as orders to help you in your efforts to repel any aggressors."

The captain gave the briefest of nods at Hibiki, but kept his eyes on Naruto, obviously staring at the teen's forehead protector. With a grim smile, he gestured for Hibiki to follow him, to which the jounin immediately complied.

Watching them walk off a ways, Naruto decided to take another look around. He couldn't really understand how they could call this a fort, it looked nothing like any fort he had ever seen before. Though perhaps it was merely given that moniker because it was just something temporary, and forts tended to have smaller garrisons than outposts. If nothing else, the construction was definitely interesting, though not likely to last through a true assault. That meant they had probably not had anything more than skirmishes before now. The makeshift walls were likely created through some strange technique, their positioning was a bit too convenient for the odd looking rocks to be a natural formation.

Hearing some chuckles from behind him, Naruto turned to see the four chuunin laughing about something. Moving closer to the group, he gave them a smile and tried to enter into their conversation.

"What's up, guys?"

The two Sound ninja stopped chuckling and looked at him somewhat warily, while grins remained on the two from Leaf. One of them, a male with wavy sandy-brown hair, answered his question.

"Not much, Uzumaki-taichou. We were just commenting that the commander here looks like a scary guy. Our friends here agreed with us, and we had a laugh about it."

Naruto looked at the two Sound nin and grinned. "Scarier than me?"

At that, the two Sound chuunin looked at each other with odd expressions, while the other Leaf chuunin, a female with her black hair in a close-cut bob, laughed outright and chose to answer this particular inquiry in between gasps for air. "No... you're the strongest... person I know, Uzumaki-taichou."

The male chuunin turned to give her a puzzled look, but maintained a cheeky grin. "Do you think he's stronger than Hokage-sama?"

She stopped laughing, shrugged, and began looking carefully at Naruto. "I've not seen him in action yet, but from what I've heard... probably. He must have impressed Hokage-sama somehow, right? I mean, if it wasn't for him, Hokage-sama wouldn't even be there. I know you heard how he saved her from both Orochimaru and Kabuto."

"Y-you've fought Orochimaru-sama and lived?! How?!"

One of the Sound shinobi finally decided to speak up, and Naruto gave him a wicked grin. "The first time he won, I have to admit. He could have killed me, but he was more interested in Sasuke at the time and just left me unconscious. The second time he didn't have use of his arms, but Kabuto and I fought each other to exhaustion, so they fled because Jiraiya was starting to get his abilities back and their summons had been stopped. The third time... let's just say that even Orochimaru can only fight the Kyuubi for so long before he had to flee."

All four of the chuunin present paled slightly as he finished the last sentence. He was planning on talking about Orochimaru more, but the voice of the commander from before interrupted him.

"So, you really are the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki then. Leaf apparently has more respect for it's Jinchuuriki than other nations do."

Not entirely sure what to say to that, Naruto simply nodded as he turned to face the old man, then waited for him to continue.

"Hibiki here told me about your little plan. While I personally would like to see your idea succeed, I'm afraid it will be nothing more than a pipe dream in the long run. I've been doing this job for far too long to believe the world will change any time soon. However, if you're successful at perhaps... stopping... these little incursions of the mercenaries from Lightning, then I might be inclined to give you my word of support for you to take to the jounin council back in Sound Village. One of our recent civilian arrivals from a small hamlet to the west of here has mentioned that the scum have managed to slip around our fort and are setting up a flanking post. Your task will be to go and... remove it. How you do it is up to you, but it had better not be there when I send one of my scouts to go verify your mission report."

"Very well. Just point me in the right direction, and it will be taken care of."

The commander held up the hand that wasn't in the brace. "Hold on a second. I'm placing Hibiki's group under your command for this mission. He's going to be reporting to me on how well you handle this particular task. I won't be able to offer you my support on good conscience if this is flubbed."

Naruto nodded, not showing any expression other than that of complete seriousness. After the commander finished speaking, Naruto looked briefly at Hibiki, then at the other two chuunin.

"Okay. Change of plans, we'll be leaving at dusk to go take care of this camp. Until then, I need to know the abilities of you three so that we can plan out how we're going to handle this. Since they're mercenaries, it shouldn't be too hard to handle, but we'll need to be prepared in case any of the previously sighted Cloud shinobi are there."

After murmurs of understanding, Hibiki led them over to one of the quieter sections of the camp, and they began going over abilities and constructing plans for the upcoming mission.

* * *

Crouched behind a larger batch of shrubbery, Naruto observed the mercenary camp from a distance. The other members of his group were not far behind him, performing their own observations. So far there wasn't much to see, there were a handful of mercenaries wandering about, as well as two lookouts that he had spotted. Activating his special senses, he was able to pick up dozens of faint chakra signatures, as well as one that was stronger than the others. The mercenary group itself would likely not be a problem to handle, but depending on what the shinobi decided to do, there could be some difficulties.

Naruto held his hand out, then pointed his thumb upward. Seconds later, he felt through his chakra detection as his companions moved into the position they had planned for earlier. Since there was only one shinobi, they would go ahead with their original plan. Once he detected that they were all in place, Naruto casually stepped out from behind the bushes and started walking forward. He kept his hands visible at his sides - he wanted the mercenaries to be aware of his presence, but at the same time he didn't want to start a conflict, yet.

The lookouts were definitely doing their jobs. He hadn't walked more than a few meters before he was spotted and he noticed a flurry of activity from the camp. Naruto noticed many of the mercs were scurrying about, and he saw as many of them glanced in his direction before continuing to prepare themselves. The teen had to admit to himself that he was rather surprised they even bothered getting out of any armor they might have worn. Their camp wasn't exactly hidden, and there were plenty of people passing by that could have reported them in to authorities, as one such civilian had done. Perhaps they felt that they had weakened the fort enough to test how far they could penetrate. That they even made it here at all showed just how exhausted the shinobi at the fort must have been.

As he continued his approach, one of the bigger men he could see moved outside the camp slightly and watched as Naruto got closer. Naruto considered flaring his chakra a bit to perhaps instill some sense of dread in the mercenaries, but decided against that. If conflict was avoidable, he wanted to exercise every option possible. Threatening them was not a way to avoid conflict. For their part, they seemed to be taking his approach rather calmly.

"Oi, brat! I don't think it's a good idea for you to get any closer, if you value your life!"

Naruto's head swiveled slightly to look at one of the other men who had shouted at him. He contemplated shouting something back as he continued walking closer, but the man was jostled around by his compatriots a bit so he figured it would be a rather futile action. The other mercenaries were probably giving the man a good ribbing for potentially turning away a potential victim. Something deep within Naruto stirred, causing him to grin at that thought.

"Hmm... what's so funny kid? It's not every day we get ta come face ta face wit' a ninja who's alone. Ya don't seem ta be scared neither."

"Ehhhh careful boss, you knows how dem ninja's be... I betcha dey's got more hidin' around sumhere..."

Naruto briefly glanced from the apparent 'boss' to a shorter man with wiry hair plus several missing teeth standing next to him, and then back again. The boss never took his eyes from Naruto's face, and more than once he saw the man glance at his forehead protector. While he was aware of the other mercenaries that were slowly forming a circle around him, he decided to focus his attention on this leader. None of the other goons would make a move if the boss didn't give them approval. From what Naruto knew of mercenary bands, acting against the wishes of the leader was pretty much a death sentence.

"Look, I'll get right to the point. No one wants to die, right? I'll give you guys one warning to get out of Rice Field Country. That's it."

The majority of the group surrounding him laughed, including the man with wiry hair. The boss smirked, however he continued to look at Naruto with more of an appraising look than anything else.

"It's pretty brave of ya to just come gallavantin' over here and giving us the what for, kid. You've got guts, I'll give ya that. Even if ya are a ninja, I doubt ya could beat all fifty-three of us. Ya can't be any stronger than tha bitch we travel with, an' she's not very strong from what we've seen either. Howsabout we give _you_ one chance to run an' hide before we gives ya a good spankin'?"

That said, the group burst out into raucous laughter once more, the boss included. Naruto closed his eyes and looked down, sighing. It was hard enough convincing Hibiki to give him a chance to talk to the group first. Even if they were mercenaries, he wanted to give them a chance to get out of death. If only they were smart enough to take his offer. Too late for that now.

With a quick motion, Naruto hooked his thumbs under his open jounin vest, rubbing them against concealed storage seals he had placed on the waistband of his pants. The kinetic friction triggered the release function on the simple seals, and his two arm blades immediately appeared in his hands with a small puff of smoke. It didn't take long for shouts of panic to break out, and he heard many of the men start shifting to grab their weapons, but he proved too fast for them. In one smooth motion, he flickered out of existence then immediately appeared in front of the mercenaries' boss, the front ends of his blades crossed up against the man's neck.

"I'm sorry about this. You should have taken my offer."

The shock barely registered on his face before Naruto gripped the handles on his blades and pushed them forward and apart, effectively separating the man's head from his shoulders. He grabbed his victim's head by the hair as he sidestepped the body that slowly pitched forward and fell to the ground. Tossing a disgusted look towards the man with the wiry hair, who was simply staring at him in shock, Naruto quickly replaced one of his arm blades back into the seal then summoned several Shadow Clones to cause chaos.

Using the replacement technique, Naruto opened his eyes to find himself standing next to Hibiki, who had moved forward and was observing the circle of mercenaries. They had 'tagged' a small rock with a chakra tracer so that Naruto would be able to easily use his senses to find it and swap when his first task was done. Looking down at the ground, he noticed that Hibiki was holding open a sealing scroll while looking at what Naruto was holding in his hand. Nodding quickly without saying a word, Naruto set the severed head onto the scroll, which immediately gave a puff of smoke as the sealing completed.

"Good work. You've done your part, if you want to continue, that's up to you."

Turning to look at the chaos as the mercenaries were trying to attack Naruto's clones, Hibiki formed a hand sign. Naruto heard a few muttered words but couldn't make out much else as a loud screeching noise filled his ears. The noise traveled away at a rapid pace, and after barely a second he noticed several of the mercenaries go flying like rag dolls. That was the signal for the other four chuunin with them to unleash their own techniques, and it wasn't much longer until every last one of the mercenaries was dead... or dying.

After the skirmish ended, Naruto checked his senses to see if they had missed anyone. The only thing left which he could still sense other than his current companions was the enemy shinobi. They needed to be dealt with, but hopefully they would choose discretion over valor after seeing what remained of this... massacre.

"I know you're in the green tent. You might as well come out and talk to us."

Naruto waited several moments and watched as the chuunin and Hibiki started gathering up the corpses and moving them over to a pile in the center of the old camp. He was about to call out once more, though a hand reaching out and pulling back one of the tent flaps made his jaw snap shut. He watched carefully as someone with blue hair - barely a shade darker than his eyes - slowly left the tent. It took one glance to realize that it was a woman, and second glance to realize that she was a rather good looking, well proportioned, scantily clad woman. Unfortunately for Naruto, he didn't have much experience with women who dressed less than conservatively. However, on his side was the fact that the person he respected as both a Hokage and a motherly figure was very well endowed, and he had plenty of experience of keeping his eyes away from where they didn't belong.

The woman must have noticed his gaze locked on her face as well, because she actually gave him a rather wry grin. "Well, I have to say that I like you already, even though you're from the Leaf. You're doing a lot better than any of these disgusting louts ever did."

Naruto wasn't sure if he should have smiled or frowned at that comment, so he tried to keep his face set to a neutral mask. "I take it you didn't much care for them, then?"

The blue haired woman snorted. "I hated them. They were constantly raping me with their eyes, my skin was constantly crawling whenever I left the tent. It's my mistake for wearing this gear, but it's usually kinda cold where I come from. As a result, it's rather warm for me down here if I wear any heavy clothing. Now I know better." She gave him a cautious look, "Assuming you aren't going to kill me, that is."

Shaking his head, Naruto looked away from her to see his group tossing the last of the bodies into the pile they had formed. "I didn't want to kill anyone if I could help it, but they didn't really give me much of a choice. If you promise to leave, I can pretend that we never met."

"Uzumaki-taichou, we're done over here. Is there anything else?"

"Scavenge the area really quick, any supplies can be sealed away and taken to the fort as supplies. If there is anything they don't want, we'll take to the Outpost."

"There's valuables in that crate over there, they pillaged a town to the north on our way here. You might want to return what's in there." Naruto craned his head to look where the woman was pointing, only to see a rather large crate that had a few miscellaneous items scattered about on top of it. Shifting his gaze over to Hibiki, Naruto caught the man's gaze, and nodded at him. The Sound jounin returned the nod and moved over towards the crate, pulling a sealing scroll out from one of the pouches attached to the leg of his pants.

"Thanks for that information."

The woman shrugged, using her hands to rub at her arms as she looked around. It was then that Naruto noticed a small breeze had kicked up, and it blew at the woman's hair, causing blue strands to wave about in the breeze. It parted her hairstyle enough so that Naruto was able to clearly see the Cloud insignia on her forehead protector.

"Were you supposed to be in charge of these men?"

Looking at him sharply, the woman scowled, then moved her gaze over towards the pile of bodies. "No, I was just a tagalong. Raikage-sama doesn't want any of the shinobi getting involved in conflicts if we can help it, so that's why I remained hidden. He doesn't even want us here as far as I can tell, but the rumor is that the daimyo of Lightning threatened or bribed him somehow. He sent chuunin and genin, but there isn't really anyone that can command us... so we've just been observing."

"You're a chuunin, then?"

The lady smiled softly, looking at the ground. "Yes, I was supposed to be able to apply for jounin in about six months, but I don't know how long I'll be stuck on this dead-end mission."

Naruto was about to reply when the two Leaf chuunin approached him. "Sorry to interrupt, Uzumaki-taichou. We've gotten everything we could find sealed away. Should we get rid of the camp now?"

"Yeah, scorch it all. Don't leave any evidence, so no one will know what really happened here other than scorched earth and ashes. Just make sure you tell our friends to get out of the way."

"You got it." As the two chuunin moved into position, Naruto beckoned to the Cloud shinobi. She cautiously moved away from the camp, following Naruto at what she probably felt was a relatively safe distance. After they moved far enough away, Naruto stopped and turned around, looking at where the chuunin were starting to torch everything with various flame techniques. Turning to the Cloud woman once again, Naruto gave her a serious look.

"If anyone asks, you don't know what happened here. You were out scouting the fort, and when you returned the camp was gone." The teen watched as the woman's eyes started opening wider as he talked. "I need you to find a way to get a message to Raikage-sama. Tell him to get a messenger to the Whirlpool Outpost if he has any interest in finding a path to peace."

"A path to..." The woman shook her head, "Very well, but where will he find this outpost?"

"Go to the river that separates Fire Country from Swamp Country. Follow it east towards the sea. You can't miss it."

Nodding, the Cloud chuunin gave Naruto a quick bow. "If there is nothing else, I will be leaving now. Thank you... for... not killing me."

"I don't kill anyone unless they give me a reason to. Please don't forget my message."

"I won't. Goodbye."

Naruto didn't hear her leave, though when he turned to look, she was no longer standing where she was a moment before. Looking back to the fires, he moved over to join the Sound shinobi as they watched the two Leaf chuunin methodically remove any trace of the mercenary camp ever having existed.

* * *

"There are extra chakra signatures up ahead that I don't recognize. It doesn't seem like any of them are fighting, but we should proceed with caution just in case."

Naruto's two chuunin companions nodded to him, now on guard. It was the middle of the afternoon the day after they had taken care of the incursion by Lightning Country mercenaries into Rice Field Country. Their actions were enough to earn them support by the makeshift jounin council in the Sound Village, and they said they'd follow up with a messenger to iron out the details in the coming days. If things went according to plan, he might be hearing from the Raikage at some point in the future as well. If the Cloud chuunin they encountered was any indication, the Raikage was not eager to be a participant in whatever scheme the Lightning Daimyo had going on.

As they got closer to Whirlpool Outpost, he sensed a chakra flare from one of the signatures he didn't recognize. That could only mean that the person was a sensor, which also meant that they likely had some form of shinobi training. Naruto couldn't stop the sigh that escaped from between his lips. The random unannounced visits were starting to become a burden.

"Whoever they are, they have shinobi training. One of them is a sensor, and they know we're incoming. Be ready, hopefully they are friendly."

Another murmur of acknowledgment followed his statement, and Naruto decided to approach slowly so he could focus some chakra into his eyes. Reinforcing his vision, he squinted, hoping to catch a glimpse of who his visitors might be. When he spotted one, he couldn't help but groan.

"Uzumaki-taichou?"

Shaking his head, Naruto grumbled out a response. "The Shugonin Juunishi."

"The Twelve Guardian Ninja? Why are they here?"

"Who knows. Hopefully it's good. I hope Shibasaki-jiisan didn't bring his granddaughter."

There was a moment of silence behind him before the female chuunin asked a question. "Is there... something wrong with the Fire Lord's granddaughter, taichou?"

Naruto felt like sighing once again as they entered the Outpost, and saw all the eyes in the area turn to look at the new arrivals.

"Yeah, she likes me. I see her personal guard is here, and so is Shuugo's. Looks like they all decided to visit."

"Naruto! You're back! How did it... is that blood?! What happened?!"

Naruto and his two companions all turned their heads to see Sakura quickly jogging over to them. Before any one of them could say a word, Sakura's hands sprung forward and were glowing green and hovering over Naruto's chest. "Whoa... it's alright, Sakura-chan. This blood isn't mine. I wasn't touched." Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but Naruto turned away from her, looking at the two chuunin he had been traveling with. "You two are dismissed. Good work, by the way. I'll be writing up recommendations for both of you in my next report to Konoha."

Both chuunin gave him beaming smiles, and promptly bowed. The female spoke to him in a chipper tone. "Thank you, Uzumaki-taichou! Good luck with... whatever is going on, as well." Both of them promptly turned around and headed towards the barracks. Shaking his head with a rueful smile, he turned back to Sakura... who was now pouting cutely at him.

"Ah, I'm sorry Sakura-chan. Those two were great during the trip, but I didn't want to keep dragging them around unnecessarily."

Sighing and squinting her eyes, Sakura nodded, then proceeded to poke at the splotches of blood on his vest. "Explain."

"To make a long story short, I had to help Sound with a mission before they would offer me any support at all. I had to face off against mercenaries, but not a single one of them touched me. The mission was a success, and I'll be hearing from one of their messengers to confirm details sometime soon."

"Good to know." Sakura looked around the area, eyes stopping briefly on each of the individual escorts of the Fire Lord and his entourage. "As I'm sure you've noticed by now, the Fire Lord decided to show up to see how things were going. We were all caught totally off guard, and he didn't seem terribly happy that you weren't here."

"Technically, I'm not supposed to leave the Outpost unless it's on official business or an emergency. I was out on official business... just not business they knew about." Naruto rubbed at his forehead. "I was hoping I'd have more time to explain it, but it looks like I'm not going to get that chance. Where is he now?"

Sakura gestured towards the command building. "They were in one of the meeting rooms. Kakashi-sensei has been talking to him, but I haven't really been listening to what they were talking about. Hinata, Kiba, and Ino have been talking with his two grandchildren that came with them... apparently they are here because they want to see you again. Your mother is there too, she sent me out here when she felt your chakra approaching."

Naruto nodded at that. It made sense, considering she showed up right after he arrived. At least his mother kept his arrival discreet, it was definitely better than being ambushed. "Hey, Sakura-chan... what's your opinion of Natsumi and Shuugo?"

"Huh?" Sakura looked at him out of the corner of her eye, as they had started walking towards the command structure. "Oh, is that their names? I was talking with your mom the whole time, so I didn't really meet them. The girl, Natsumi, seems impatient about something, though Shuugo looks rather laid back."

"Yeah, well Shuugo is training to be a samurai, so part of his training is to remain calm at all times. Natsumi... she... might be a bit of an issue."

"An issue?" Sakura's voice had adopted a hard edge. Even if there was nothing for him to worry about, Naruto couldn't help but start to sweat a little.

"I had been assigned a mission while I was out training with Ero-sennin a few years ago, since we were near the capital. We met up with another team from Konoha and had to escort her so she could meet with a suitor. On the way, we were attacked, and I managed to rescue her. Ever since then, she's turned away all suitors because she wants to marry me."

Naruto was talking with a serious face while watching Sakura's expression. It was strangely neutral through most of his explanation, though her eyebrows raised sharply when he mentioned marriage. "I told her I couldn't because I wasn't of noble birth, but she claimed she didn't care and would find a way. Technically, I am of noble birth, but she doesn't know that. Shibasaki-jiisan does, though, and I just know he's going to tease me about it eventually."

"So what are you going to do?" The hard edge in Sakura's voice was gone, but she definitely didn't look happy.

Naruto shrugged. "I have an idea, but I'll only use it if I really have to. I'm apologizing in advance if I say anything that upsets you, but please beat me up later when we're alone, okay?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of Sakura's mouth. "I'll think about it. If it pisses me off too badly I might not be able to hold back."

"Oh well. Just make sure my mom doesn't see it at least. Oh! I should probably also warn you... Natsumi is the type that thinks she can always get what she wants. So don't be surprised if she seems... mean. Sometimes I don't know how her and Shuugo manage to be related."

Naruto let out a sigh as they approached the door to the conference room. Beside him, Sakura was strangely quiet, but Naruto tossed her a smile as she gave his hand a quick squeeze.

"Time to go meet my doom."

* * *

"Koibito!"

The girlish squeal was immediately followed by Naruto being engulfed in a tight hug right after he stepped foot into the room. He forced a small smile onto his face and laughed lightly, giving the female a gentle pat on the back. "Uhm, it's nice to see you again, Natsumi-hime."

The teenager promptly broke the embrace, then took a step back and pouted at him. If he wasn't so infatuated with Sakura, Naruto had to reluctantly admit he would have been soaking up all of the attention the girl in front of him had given him since he saved her years ago. Natsumi was very attractive - though obviously no one beat Sakura in that department - and the small jeweled tiara she was wearing gave her an appearance of maturity, even if she didn't act that way. The clothes she was wearing were casual, nothing close to the traditional yukata he typically saw her in, but it made sense not to wear her usual clothes when traveling. Still, her honey colored hair was done up in an intricate bun that left shoulder-length curls fall free to frame her face. The face, he remembered, that was still pouting at him.

"How many times do I have to tell you! It's Natsumi-chan for you! Natsumi-chan! You're the only one I let call me Natsumi-chan other than my family, so you'd better use it!"

Naruto nervously scratched at the back of his head. "Ahh... yes, sorry... Natsumi... chan."

Her demeanor changed instantly and a happy grin found it's way onto her face. She clapped her hands together lightly and giggled at him. "Well, aren't you happy that I came to see you? It took me three days in one of those bumpy carriages. Ugh, it hurt so much and I'm so sore, especially when the roads stopped." She stopped for a moment to rub her backside while frowning, then turned back to him with a small scowl on her face. "The first thing we're going to do is fix all the roads out here, because I'm going to be visiting a lot!"

"Oh, really? Well, that's um... good to know. It will definitely help with trade too."

The enthusiasm was clearly missing from Naruto's voice, and Natsumi must have noticed it as well. She moved her hands to her hips and looked at him curiously. "Eh, Naruto-kun? What's wrong? You're awfully..." He noticed her eyes twitch over to his side, then back to him, and then back over to his side where they remained. Turning his own head, he looked over his shoulder to find that Sakura was literally breathing over his shoulder, glaring daggers at the Fire Lord's granddaughter.

"Naruto-kun? Who is that? I don't like how close she is standing to you." Natsumi jumped forward and grabbed Naruto's arm, holding it close against her chest and dragging him away from Sakura. Much to his surprise, Sakura grabbed his other arm and stopped his movement, causing Natsumi to yelp in surprise.

"Y-You succubus! What are you doing?!" The Fire Princess was leaning around Naruto's chest, glaring at Sakura.

"I could ask you the same thing! Just because you're royalty doesn't mean you can treat Naruto like you own him!" Sakura glared right back at the other teen, Naruto swore he saw sparks appear in front of him. He suddenly had a vague understanding of what Sasuke dealt with every day when they were in the academy.

"I was doing no such thing! If he didn't want something, he could easily have said no. Besides, Naruto-kun is going to marry me! I've already decided it!"

"There you go again! You decided it, he didn't!"

Natsumi squinted and looked at Sakura carefully. Releasing Naruto's arm, she walked around him and moved over closer to Sakura, and began examining the pink haired girl closely. Sakura grabbed Naruto's arm even tighter, while the blond simply looked on quizzically.

"W-What?" Sakura was clearly fidgeting, the only time she had likely been scrutinized this closely before was when she was training to be Tsunade's apprentice.

The Fire Princess nodded and hummed to herself for a moment, then looked straight at Naruto. "Well, Naruto-kun, at least she's attractive. If you want to take her as a mistress after we're married, I approve."

Naruto wasn't sure, but he swore he felt his arm break as well as a sound vaguely reminiscent of a cat coughing up a hairball came from where Sakura was standing. It was then that Naruto also heard snickering in other places of the room. Looking around, he realized that he totally forgot where he was. There were a handful of others in the room that were all sending amused looks his way, even the Fire Lord had a huge grin on his face.

"Natsumi-chan, I'm flattered... but I can't marry you. I'm sorry."

Natsumi was visibly shocked, and her expression was swiftly morphing into one of despair. "But... why?"

Naruto looked at the girl seriously. "It wouldn't be right, because I'm already engaged to Sakura-chan. I can't marry more than one person." Sakura's hold around his arm tensed once again, but Naruto wasn't about to look at her and potentially blow a hole in the lie. Sure, he'd love it if it was true, but the rational side of him knew that it was way too early for that. He only hoped Sakura managed to keep her expression somewhat neutral, and that she remembered what he told her when they were outside the door. He risked a quick glance around the room to see what others were thinking, though most of them just seemed to be expressing confusion. Only Ino looked completely flabbergasted at his fake confession. His mother and Kakashi both probably knew what he was trying to do, and kept their expressions blank. The Fire Lord, however...

"Actually... Naruto-kun..." There was a moment of silence as the Shibasaki Kiyoshi decided to clarify something. "As you are now aware, you are officially nobility, in more way than one. Your father was Hokage, and your mother is the leader of Whirlpool Country. Most countries have laws that enable nobility to have certain... privileges..."

"No offense, Shibasaki-dono, but I don't think my son is like that. He'll probably-"

"Kyaaaa!! Naruto-kun, I had no idea you were nobility too! That means you don't need a mistress, you can marry however many women you want! I don't mind at all!"

Sakura slowly released Naruto's arm, letting her own arms fall to her sides. She didn't move away, but Naruto was still concerned, only half-listening to other conversations that were currently taking place throughout the room at this revelation.

"Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

Shaking her head, the pink haired girl mumbled something under her breath that he didn't catch. He was going to ask her to repeat it, but Natsumi quickly moved over and latched onto one of Sakura's arms. The medi-nin looked at the princess in complete shock.

"Oh, your name is Sakura? That's a really nice name. I'm sorry I called you a succubus earlier, but I was really upset, and I saw you as a rival."

Sakura tried to bring a smile to her face, but it was clearly forced. "It's... not a problem, Natsumi-hime."

"Heee, we'll need to get along really well if we're going to marry Naruto, so maybe we should go to your office and get better acquainted? Hmm?"

The way Natsumi started rubbing Sakura's arm as she talked made some rather impure thoughts go through Naruto's mind. Sakura must have been feeling awkward as well, since her face was bright red. The coy grin on Natsumi's face was not helping matters either.

"Natsumi-chan, as much as I'm sure the poor girl would like to get to know you better, I'm afraid I'll need her in a meeting." Natsumi frowned as she reluctantly let go of Sakura's arm, but bowed at her grandfather. Kiyoshi turned to look at his grandson. "Shuugo, maybe you should go outside and help your sister practice her swordsmanship. She has been skipping lessons lately."

Shuugo immediately bowed and gestured for his sister to follow. As he passed Naruto, he mumbled an apology under his breath, to which Naruto simply gave the younger boy a smile and waved it off. Natsumi swiftly moved over to Naruto as her brother passed and gave him a quick hug, then promptly followed Shuugo out the door without looking back.

"Hinata-sama, I'm sorry to be a bother, but would you do an old man a favor and make sure Natsumi behaves with her brother? If she doesn't, please report it to me. I need that girl to start growing up."

Hinata bowed deeply. "Y-yes, Shibasaki-dono. Excuse me."

As Hinata left the room, Kiba decided to excuse himself go with her just in case. The Fire Lord spoke up one last time, "Naruto-kun, Kushina-sama, Kakashi-san, and Sakura-san... please let us reconvene to another room. We have several things we must discuss, and it would be best if we could avoid any further distractions, fun though they may be." Kiyoshi looked at Naruto specifically and winked at the teen, making Naruto realize that the old man had purposefully given him a hard time earlier just for a few laughs. The blond fully considered some kind of prank as revenge, but decided against it. He had played pranks on the Fire Lord before, mostly just to prove he could. Kiyoshi had gotten several laughs out of it, but the rest of his guards weren't quite as jovial about the whole... prank thing.

"We can move to my office upstairs, if that's alright?"

Kiyoshi nodded. "That's perfect. Lead the way, Naruto-kun."

* * *

**OMAKE**

Itachi settled down on his stool at the tea shop. He wasn't really hungry or thirsty, but Kisame had started complaining, so they had agreed to take a short break before continuing on to their destination in Rock.

"Ohhh man, my feet hurt. Maybe I should pick up some new sandals while I'm here."

Keeping his mouth shut, Itachi nodded at the server who dropped off the menu where they were sitting. They had an understanding between the two of them, where they would ignore each others' eccentricities. Kisame liked to talk, sometimes for no reason. Itachi had agreed to not tell Kisame to shut up unless they were in the middle of an important assignment.

Kisame, on the other hand, claimed that Itachi was just downright creepy at times, and he would prefer it if Itachi would not be that way. Unfortunately, Itachi had no idea how he was creepy, so he decided it was in his best interests to simply keep his mouth shut. As a result, Kisame was typically talking nonstop to no one in particular, likely just to hear himself talk.

"What should I get... I've had every one of their flavors of tea before... maybe I should get something to eat this time. I wonder..."

Itachi sighed as he set his menu down. He was probably just going to go with a glass of water. Boring, yes, but he really didn't feel like consuming anything that would make him thirsty again while in the middle of their journey. As he was planning the rest of their trip in his mind, he suddenly had a very odd sensation run down his spine. The Uchiha sat up sharply and looked around, his gaze eventually drifting to the direction where Whirlpool was located.

Kisame noticed his partner's unusual behavior, "Eh? Itachi? Something wrong?"

Itachi closed his eyes, his posture settling back down on the stool. "I seem to sense a disturbance in the mojo. It's as if a million voices cried out at once, complaining about how the pairing may eventually turn into a harem, only to be immediately silenced when a greater power stated that it would not be."

The man with fish-like features blinked slowly a few times. "Itachi? Remember what I said about the creepy? That was definitely creepy."

Opening his eyes, Itachi nodded. "It won't happen again."

* * *

**A/N:** I'd like to apologize in advance for the length of this A/N. I don't really approve of long-winded A/N's, but I have questions/comments/concerns that I'd like to share with my readers.

First, thanks to my beta, Denim88, as always for looking over this and offering suggestions.

Second, thanks to all my reviewers. Especially my consistent reviewers who are around at least once every three chapters or so. Your input is greatly appreciated. I'd go on a naming spree, but that would just add more length to an already lengthy note. (Sorry, maybe I'll do it next chapter? =P)

Third, for those of you who _might_ not know, an Omake is just an extra to the story, it does not really happen. Think of it as a humorous 'what-if?'. I was talking to Denim and he actually gave me the idea for the little funny moment, I thought it would be amusing to expand upon it a little.

Lastly, there is something that could either be a concern, or it could just be that people are so content with this fic that they don't really need to say anything about it. I've made a point -not- to ask for reviews, specifically because I always get annoyed when I read a story and the author begs/asks for reviews every chapter. I don't mind it much at all when they just say things like 'Don't forget to review!' or just 'Review!', but when they threaten to only post another chapter of the story if some imaginary review number is met? No thanks. I'm of the opinion that if there is a legitimate critique, someone will let me know, or if there was a specific aspect that someone really enjoyed about a chapter, that they will also let me know. I know that's how I base the reviews I offer on stories I read, and from the reviews I -do- get, it seems I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

But then I came across something interesting when browsing through fics I haven't looked at yet. Just the other day I came across one that had over _**ten thousand**_ reviews. Based on that alone, I had to check it out. Personally, I didn't think the fic was written all THAT great, it was decent and entertaining yes, but there wasn't anything particularly groundbreaking about it. There was enough substance to make me want to read several dozen chapters or so before I was just waiting for the story to end. The author had a bit of a mouth and replied in the story to some reviewers who were flaming him or complaining. I guess that's entertaining for some to read, but I don't check out stories to read review responses. I thank all my reviewers in many of my A/N's (I edited them out when I cleaned up my older chapters), and even reply to some of the ones that are well thought out or very nice, have good idea's that I'd like permission to use, and even critiques to find out what I can possibly change. But I don't make everyone else suffer through them.

I don't want to say I was jealous about it (even if I am human and probably was), but curiosity got the better of me and I started browsing other fics. Most that have been around since about the same time as mine (or are even 'younger') have a review count that totally blow mine out of the water, even though mine in most cases has 100 thousand more words on average. I'm not afraid to admit that it left me feeling a little hollow for a while, and having to rationalize that "I guess everyone is content enough with my fic that they enjoy reading it but don't really have anything positive or negative to say about it." Or maybe it was that "My chapters are so long and take a few weeks to write that I only keep the people with the attention span longer than that of a goldfish." Apologies to those 'goldfish' readers out there, I just needed an example.

Of course, those of you who review consistently, almost every chapter, have my most heartfelt thanks. (Yes, that includes just smiley faces, _InARealPickle_)

If you want a little more explanation as to why I'm a bit perturbed about the whole ordeal, here's some statistics from the month of February. I posted Chapter 25 on the 10th. On that day alone, I had **1.62k** people (unique visitors, not 'hits') at least open the page where that chapter was located. For the 18 days that Chapter 25 was up in February, **2181** people at least looked at it. Whirlpool Country as a whole averages just over 100 unique visitors a day, looking at one chapter, minimum. Every chapter had a _minimum_ 350 people who looked at it last month._ The large majority of chapters had more than 400!  
_

I am very proud and happy about the number of people who at least look at the story, and if the numbers indicate correctly, I'd say that at least 300 people read Whirlpool Country from start to finish in February alone.

Alas, here comes the heartbreak. For all of those two thousand plus people who checked out chapter 25, and for those 300 people that read the entire story.... I got 12 reviews. Chapter 24? Thirteen reviews. Chapter 23? Twelve reviews. I got two PM's during that entire time. Yes, I'll admit, I had a 'what the fuck?' moment. I also realize that I'm probably being a hypocrite for even bothering to go into this much detail about everything. But for once I broke down and couldn't help it. I enjoy reading other fics as much as I enjoy writing, and when I can't help but notice how much attention other fics get even when authors don't ask for it, I don't think I could help but wonder why. I'll never understand if I'm not told. On the same note, if I'm not told what people did or didn't like about the fic/chapter, it feels childish of me but I can't help but wonder why I bother writing in the first place. I only write because I think I have an idea for a story that others will enjoy, but if hardly anyone does... let's just say I have other things I can be doing with the time I spend typing, checking grammar, proofreading, editing, and all that stuff. Think of reviews as payment for a fanfiction writer, and this doesn't just apply to my work either. Published authors get paid cash for their work, but I'm here doing this for free. Good words, saying my work is enjoyed, a pat on the back, critiques so I can try to write better... that's all I need to make me want to keep going. I'm sure the same holds true for many other fanfiction authors as well.

I feel a little dirty being so long-winded about reviews of all things, but it's downright depressing. So for one time (and hopefully one time only) I'm literally going to get down on my imaginary internet-knees and beg for reviews. Any kind of review, just let me know how I'm doing. Any trolls about this long A/N will be deleted, because that's not what I'm asking for, and I know that there are juveniles out there that get a kick out of causing grief. Your kind of attention to my story is something I don't need. I need critiques, I need explanations as to why you like what you read. It doesn't have to be more than a sentence. Even if you just like the story for what it is, pleeeaaase let me know. I really don't want to have to resort to the 'please review' at the bottom of every chapter, but when I get two thousand people who read a chapter and barely a dozen feel like letting me know what they thought, it's a larger blow to my morale than you might think.

Whirlpool Country up to Chapter 25 - Reviews: 588, Words: 203243, Hits: 247966, C2's: 57, Favs: 726, Alerts: 772

Chapters 14 and 15 have been edited.

**Up next: **Whirlpool Country

_**A/N2:**_ I've added a note on my profile under today's date as a response to some reviews I've gotten already, and confirmation for those that despise Harems. Oh, and leaving a very good, thorough review that is unsigned? *bonks _The DoD_ on the head* Now I can't reply to you directly!


	27. Whirlpool Country

Chapter 27

Stretched out in his chair as he looked out the window, Naruto's mind was going a mile a minute. It had been a very long, taxing day. He had since moved his chair over by the window so he could look up at the stars, and the bright full moon that gave all the other buildings in the outpost an almost surreal glow. There was still a little bit of requisition paperwork left on his desk, but he was finding it increasingly hard to concentrate because of all that had happened not just today, but over the past several days.

Idly tapping his fingers in a rhythm against the wall near the window, he let his head rest against the tall back of his chair, and closed his eyes. He had no idea at all that any of this would be happening to him. His mother, Itachi, the return of the Uzumaki clan, the entire opportunity to put together some kind of multinational shinobi force... it was all overwhelming. To think that barely a year ago he was content sitting in his run down apartment, waiting for the next mission... the next opportunity to prove to himself and everyone else that he was a capable ninja.

Then there was also Sakura. If all of this had never happened, he would likely still be holding back his feelings from her, and he had no idea how she would have seen him. Part of him hoped that things wouldn't have been any different, but they likely would have been. The mission that they were going on seemed to be on her mind a lot when they were still in Konoha, and it may have pressured her to act on what she was feeling sooner than she would have otherwise. Unfortunately his thoughts about Sakura started to cascade into thoughts about Natsumi, and how in the world he was going to deal with her. She was clearly making Sakura uncomfortable after their brief encounter, and there were only so many ways that he could think to politely tell a Fire Princess that no, he really wasn't interested.

Well, it wasn't entirely truthful to say that he wasn't interested at all... but he already had someone which he had loved for a long time... and... and...

A knock on the door brought instant relief to Naruto, it kept his mind from traveling down a very dangerous path. Sitting upright, looked towards the door. "Come in."

The door opened slowly, and Yuugao entered with a gentle smile on her face and a handful of papers in her hand. "Hey there. After all you've been through, I thought you'd have been asleep by now."

Naruto snorted, more to himself than at Yuugao, and looked back out the window once again. "Already tried to sleep. I'm a little tired, but my mind is still going a mile a minute and won't stop."

Chuckling lightly, Yuugao stepped into the room, gently closing the door behind her. She held the papers up slightly, causing them to rustle. "These are the mission reports. Where should I put them?"

Naruto didn't look at her, but jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards his desk. "Left side of the desk from where I sit. That's the stuff I haven't gotten to yet."

Yuugao moved silently over to the desk, carefully placing the mission reports on one of the smaller piles that he had referenced as being untouched. She noticed how the desk lamp he had was set to it's dimmest setting, probably so he could see the stars outside without the glare on the window.

"I thought Kakashi-sensei was in charge of handling the mission reports?"

"Yes, well... I happened to be chatting with Rin as he was heading over here. He stopped to see what we were up to, and Rin had mentioned going to get dinner. We all chatted for a minute about today's events, then she excused herself. Kakashi-senpai looked like he wanted to go with her, so I volunteered to bring the reports to you, and told him he owed me one." Yuugao wandered over towards the window as she explained, stopping nearby so she could see outside as well. She could see the small grin on his face, and couldn't help but grin again, as she did when Kakashi started jogging to catch up with Rin.

"Do you still need to eat?"

"No, I ate earlier with Sakura, Ino, and Hinata. I must say that Sakura was very quiet... we were all worried about her, but she said it wasn't anything big and not to worry. I'm pretty sure the other two girls knew what was up, with how they were looking at her... but they chose not to say anything."

Naruto nodded but didn't reply. He continued looking out the window, up at the night sky. As Yuugao looked at his face out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed his jaw clench occasionally. It seemed as if he had something he wanted to say or ask, but wasn't quite able to get it out. She decided that perhaps if she could get him talking, he'd be willing to say whatever it was that's on his mind.

"So, I haven't heard as much as I thought I might have about the meeting that you had with the Fire Lord. You don't have to tell me any details if you aren't allowed to, but how did it go?"

Naruto glanced at her momentarily with a raised eyebrow, then shrugged and settled back against the chair once again. "I probably didn't really need to be there, at least not in any official capacity. As for the meeting overall, I'd say it had a mostly positive tone. It was more overwhelming for my mom than any of the others in there, though. I think she was blindsided by what the Fire Lord had to say..."

* * *

_"Well, now that the five of us are here and we have some peace and quiet, I believe we should get down to business. I have two purposes for being here... one was to inspect the outpost and potentially the Whirlpool Village proper to see how things were looking. If I felt the things I was looking for were satisfactory, then I would proceed with the second purpose."_

_Kiyoshi let what he said hang in the air for a moment, and the tension was so thick that Naruto felt he could cut it with a knife. He moved behind his desk but remained standing, as was the courteous thing to do if the Fire Lord did not sit down as well. Sakura had remained next to the door, while Kakashi decided to park himself against the wall next to her. Kushina had moved to stand on one side of Naruto's desk, while Kiyoshi had moved slightly to one side of the room so that he could look at everyone at the same time, but easily focus on an individual should it be necessary._

_"I'm happy to say that what I was looking for met my expectations - greatly surpassed them, even."_

_Naruto let his head droop slightly and released the breath he didn't even realize he was holding, feeling a blush cover his cheeks when he looked up to see everyone grinning at him. "Err... sorry. I'm glad to hear it met your approval, Kiyoshi-jiisan."_

_The Fire Lord laughed, shaking his head a little. "I'll only let you get away with calling me that, Naruto-kun. It seems that you have a strange effect on certain members of my family, and I find myself to be no exception."_

_Finding himself blushing harder, Naruto nervously scratched at the back of his head, and reluctantly realized that he was purposefully avoiding looking in Sakura's direction._

_"To get back on topic, I have to say that I definitely believe this outpost, and by extension the village, can handle what I'm going to tell you." The daimyo reached one hand into the robe he was wearing, and pulled out a scroll that was bound tightly with a large paper seal. He moved up to Kushina and offered her the scroll. The redhead accepted it with a small bow, but looked at it curiously._

_"By official decree, Fire Country hereby gives up it's claim to the portion of land to the south of the River of the End, land that belonged to the Country once known as Whirlpool. With the return of capable leadership, the people, and the Village that once governed the land of Whirlpool, all land is officially returned to its proper authority of governance."_

_Kushina started trembling as she held the scroll close to her chest, and Naruto moved around to the side, placing a hand on her back as he gave Kiyoshi a small smile._

_"Since that's done... allow me to be the first to say... welcome back."_

_Naruto lifted his hand as he felt his mother lean forward, and she bowed deeply to the Fire Lord. It sounded like she tried to say something, but her voice choked, and she decided to remain silent instead. As she straightened, the redhead turned away from everyone and started wiping her face frantically. Naruto quickly moved around her to open one of the drawers in his desk, and pointing inside it. As Kushina peered into the drawer, everyone heard her chuckle as she pulled a cloth out of it, and proceeded to wipe her face._

_When she was done, she turned back to everyone. "I'm sorry about that. I... I honestly never thought I'd see this day again. I was content knowing that there would at least be a Whirlpool Village, even if it was inside Fire Country. Speaking of..." She turned a bleary-eyed gaze onto the Fire Lord. "I thought I heard that Fire Country had annexed the land? It couldn't have been that simple to give this back, could it?"_

_A wry grin started to spread across Kiyoshi's face, and he ran a hand back through his gray hair. "Well, how should I put this? My old friend Hiruzen and I came up with a crazy plan. In the meantime, let's just say I conveniently misplaced the written deed to the land of Whirlpool."_

_Kushina gasped as she raised the scroll in her hands to look at it. "How did you manage to get it? I thought it had been lost?"_

_"It would seem that Tsunade-hime of the Sannin managed to stop a shinobi from Rock who had been able to lay his hands on the deed scroll. When she returned from her mission which had ultimately failed, she handed the scroll over to the Sandaime Hokage for safekeeping. He in turn handed it over to me, and it has been held in my private vault ever since. I managed to let it slip via rumor that Fire Country now controlled all land south of the River of the End."_

_The entire room was giving Kiyoshi their rapt attention. The entire time he kept a smile on his face, while Kushina appeared to be barely containing her excitement._

_"So this means for the last sixteen years or so, Fire Country has not collected any kind of taxes from the people who used to live in Whirlpool Country. We extended our shinobi protection to the area, but I hope you understand that without a tax income, there was only so much we could do when patrolling the area without having a mission that was paid for. Local taxes were collected, so amenities and local police forces have been funded, and I offered my help if needed, but otherwise we've remained as two distinct entities on the local level and let the rumor run. Though none of my council have bothered to comment on it, I'm fairly certain they all believe the rumor to be true as well, which Hiruzen and I had many laughs about._

_"Anyway, between the governor, Hiruzen, and myself, we had simply assigned all of the old land that made up Whirlpool as one prefecture. The governor is already aware of what is taking place in this room and once I send word, he will move here to the capital. Assuming you wish to retain his services, I'm sure he would be able to help you out greatly in getting the country reorganized."_

_The Fire Lord turned to look out the window, and started rubbing his chin. "That reminds me, I'll have to send word to my cartographer as well, he'll have to start re-drawing the maps to change the borders back to what they were. Oh well, it shouldn't be too much work. I will assume that you are going to reclaim the territory that was assigned to Swamp Country as well, up to the northern seashore?"_

_Looking between the members of the small group, he couldn't help but grin at them all, as they all seemed to be staring at him in some sort of stupor. "Ah, sorry about that. I do tend to ramble on when I get excited. I daresay I haven't had this much to look forward to since Hiruzen lost our last bet and I made him cross-dress for a day. Sadly, I didn't make any additional stipulations about where he could be, and he managed to lock himself up in his office for the duration. Such a shame."_

_As much as Naruto was stupefied by what was going on, it didn't stop him from breaking out in laughter when the thought of the old man dressed up as a female ran rampant through his mind. He nearly doubled over, clutching at his stomach as he tried to gasp for breath. Apparently he wasn't the only one facing this difficulty, as he recovered he looked around only to see Sakura wiping tears from her eyes, and Kakashi leaning back against the wall while both of his hands were resting over his abdomen. Kushina simply had her free hand over her mouth, and was still giggling slightly._

_Dropping her hand, she managed to calm down enough to reply to Kiyoshi. "Ah, yes. It would probably be best if the borders just went back to what they were before. I believe most of the villages to the north are already treating us as being in charge, since they're all willing to send volunteers and aid to help us get running again. Having to hire out their protection all these years instead of just paying simple taxes seems to be too much of a drain on them. Not to mention many of the villages are a hiding place for scum of all kinds now, since there is no real authority. That's probably going to be the first order of business, getting them cleaned up."_

_Kushina's eyes widened for a moment before she quickly turned to her son and gave him a quick bow. "I mean... assuming that's acceptable, of course."_

_Naruto looked surprised at first, until he remembered that he was still in charge of the only military force that Whirlpool had. Technically, it wasn't even Whirlpool's, it belonged to Leaf. If anything, as of now, all Leaf forces could be considered 'on loan' until they got their own force built up. It would take years to train up a good force, but any teenagers and young adults who had managed to unlock their chakra on their own could be trained up rapidly. While someone unlocking their chakra on their own was somewhat rare, it was not unheard of, especially in places not closely monitored by hidden villages. Chakra control could be achieved consciously, and it was the preferred method, since initial chakra releases could potentially be harmful to one's body if not done properly._

_Another way to unlock chakra manipulation was through adrenaline. Places not monitored by hidden villages were typically rife with criminals and other malcontents, so there was often plenty of people getting scared, hurt, or worse. With enough adrenaline and blood pumping through a person's system at a rapid rate, they could unconsciously mold their chakra in feeble attempts at forming a shield around them, or bracing their fists if they were to attack. The manipulation wouldn't be much, but it would be enough to delay the hardening of the chakra coils to the point where they may still be trained to use their chakra into their mid twenties. Chakra coils harden gradually with disuse, which is why shinobi are constantly reminded to perform even minor chakra exercises every day to keep chakra access completely open. Most chakra coils completely harden by the time a person hits their thirteenth birthday - assuming they had never used them before._

_The last and final way to unlock chakra molding capabilities has since been banned in all of the more civilized hidden villages. The last of the five great nations to ban the practice was Water, after the civil war in the Bloody Mist. If a child was introduced to killing intent from a seasoned ninja, their body's chakra would subconsciously try to fight back against it. It had been proven that after a few times of being subjected to this treatment, a child would eventually be able to recognize their own chakra coming to their defense, and be able to manipulate it on their own with increased ability from then on. This practice, however, was deemed inhumane and subsequently banned virtually everywhere._

_Reigning in his thoughts and bringing himself back to the present, Naruto noticed that his mother's gaze was focused on him, and she was obviously disturbed that he had not yet replied._

_"Sorry, sorry, I was just thinking about something. I have no problem helping out with what you asked, but I was thinking about planning beyond just that point."_

_"Oh?" Relief was evident, both on Kushina's face and in her voice._

_Naruto turned to look at the Fire Lord. "I know Konoha is short on teaching staff... Tsunade-baachan told me they had to pull a lot of teachers back to active duty. Do you think we can put a word out that we're looking for retired and private shinobi to staff a new academy?"_

_Kiyoshi started rubbing his chin again briefly, then smiled a little and nodded at the young blond. "It shouldn't be an issue. What about their pay?"_

_Naruto shrugged. "About the same as current academy level, perhaps a bit higher to encourage them to want to teach here. The amount of places we need filled will depend on how many applicants we get. I'm sure a few shinobi here might volunteer on occasion when they aren't on duty."_

_"You will need a headmaster, of course." The daimyo's voice was firm, but light._

_Turning his gaze to look at Kakashi, Naruto accidentally met Sakura's eyes, neither looking away for several seconds. He really needed to talk to her, but now was obviously a bad time to do so. Forcing his own eyes to move on, he finally settled on Kakashi. "Do you think Rin would be up to it? She's been teaching me wind techniques, and she's been the best sensei I've ever had. Uh... no offense."_

_Kakashi chuckled, waving his hand in dismissal. "Maa, it's okay. I know I was horrible. You should ask her, at least. She might do it... if not, she's probably willing to be a teacher. Since she isn't currently an active Leaf nin, she's your best bet right now."_

_Satisfied with that input, Naruto nodded at his once-sensei, and looked back at his mother. "We'll help you get things under control, and Kiyoshi-jiisan will help you find new teachers. So all you'll need to do is build an academy, if you don't already have plans for one."_

_His mother gave him a brilliant smile. "We do have plans, but I believe they just got pushed forward. I'll let Keiji know. He might be willing to teach there as well... some of the returned Uzumaki have expressed interest in reviving the crafting and scouting branches."_

_Silence reigned for a moment as everyone digested the plans that had been made in the room. Kiyoshi clapped his hands together once to get everyone's attention. "Well since that is all taken care of... Kushina-sama, I'll send a messenger to the governor and have him contact you. Kakashi-san, if you could follow me for a moment, I would like to speak with you privately about a certain matter."_

_"Ah... Shibasaki-sama, before you go..."_

_Naruto's voice drifted off, and the Fire Lord turned to him with raised eyebrows. It was unusual for Naruto to address him in such a manner._

_"Yes? What is it, Naruto-kun?"_

_Naruto scratched at his head and looked away for a moment before turning back to the daimyo. "I... don't know what I should do about Natsumi-chan. I know she means well, but... I'm not that interested. I've told her that more than once... I mean, I like her... as a friend, but.... I don't know how to explain this..."_

_Kiyoshi chuckled a little, but gave Naruto a pitying look. "I think I know what you mean, Naruto-kun. Unfortunately, I am only her grandfather. As I have mentioned to you in the past, I can make suggestions to her about looking elsewhere. However, she is the Fire Princess, and more importantly, she is the second heir to Fire Country after her father passes the duty on to her. She is technically doing nothing wrong, and unless she actually starts stalking you there is nothing anyone can do. I am sorry... though perhaps if you were to find a better suitor for her in your stead that could work. Or maybe she will just get bored of trying eventually. I cannot claim to understand how the mind of my granddaughter works." Kiyoshi looked at Sakura and offered her a small smile. "I must congratulate you, Sakura-san. Grabbing a man of Naruto-kun's caliber cannot be an easy feat, the boundless energy he exhibits would have sent me running for the hills, personally. Though I can see what my granddaughter sees in him. Please don't be offended by her, but I must warn you... I've seen her do some rather radical things to get what she wants. Nothing dangerous, I assure you... but be prepared all the same."_

_Sakura bowed at the Fire Lord and offered her thanks, not being able to do much to hide the blush that was slowly creeping up her face. She was saved from having to say anything else when the Fire Lord promptly left the room, waving for Kakashi to follow. The jounin quickly complied._

_Naruto watched as the door closed, then turned his head sharply when he felt someone pinch and tug on his cheek. _

_"Ouch! What was that for?!" He grumbled, rubbing at his cheek. Kushina was grinning at him._

_"Nothing, I just wanted to compliment you but you kept staring at the door like a dummy."_

_Naruto patted at his cheek a little to make the sting go away, feeling slightly sheepish for yelling out like he did. "Oh... uhm, thanks."_

_"Baka, I haven't even told you what I was going to compliment you on! Are you that distracted about Natsumi-hime?"_

_Even though Naruto didn't look in her direction, he could feel Sakura's gaze boring a hole in his head. He sighed, "I need to do something about this situation, but I don't know what. So yes... I was thinking about her."_

_"Ho. Well at least you're honest. I'm relieved to know my son isn't a liar." Kushina gave him a wry smile, "Anyway, I was going to say that I'm proud of the way you handled yourself when I asked for your help. Sorry to suddenly dump that question on you. I also have to admit, the way you took control of that situation and even thought ahead about it was... well... hot."_

_"Ugh... Moooom!" Naruto slapped a hand over his eyes and groaned, and he heard Sakura clearly snickering nearby. _

_"What? I'm allowed to say that as your mother, aren't I? Maybe you just need to take control of that Natsumi-hime somehow like you pretty much did in this meeting, and it will all work out?"_

_Naruto barely thought about that for a second. "No, I think that will just make it worse."_

_Kushina pursed her lips as one of her fingers tapped at her chin. "Yeah, from what I saw of her, you're right. She'd probably ask you to spank her if she's rebellious or something, and then act that way on purpose from what I've seen..."_

_Unable to bear the completely serious look on his mother's face as she talked in a way that he'd never imagined, Naruto quickly turned his blushing face to look at Sakura, who didn't seem to be faring much better._

_"S-so... what do you think?"_

* * *

"What did she say?" Yuugao leaned forward slightly in the chair that she had pulled alongside Naruto's. She found herself blushing alongside Naruto at what Kushina had said, though in retrospect the redhead did seem like the type of person to say what was on her mind, regardless of who was present. Living alone with Rin for nearly two decades may have had an impact on her mindset as well.

"Just to wait and see if anything else happens. I don't think she was comfortable talking about it in front of my mom. After that, they both left the room, and I've been here almost the entire time since. I went to look for Sakura-chan, but she wasn't in the medical building and no one else had seen her since the meeting. When I went to the barracks to try and get some sleep, she was already there, sleeping."

"I see. All in all, it does seem that the meeting had a very positive tone. I mean, Whirlpool Country exists again, officially at least. There are plans to build an academy, so there will be little shinobi brats running around before long as well."

Both Yuugao and Naruto chuckled at that, before a comfortable silence settled over them.

"Nee-chan?"

Yuugao shifted in her chair, still not entirely used to hearing Naruto refer to her as such, but silently pleased.

"What's up, Whiskers?"

Naruto continued to look out the window. "What do you think I should do?"

"About what? Seems like you've got everything in order to me."

"Natsumi-chan."

The woman with dark purple hair frowned, and leaned back in her chair as she folded her arms under her chest. "Are you sure you don't want to talk to Sakura... or your mother about this before you go asking others for help?"

Naruto slowly turned his piercing gaze on her, and it sent chills down her spine. Her first thought was that it looked haunted, but eventually chalked that up to the way the bright moonlight played about his face, making his blue eyes seem like they were glowing. Upon further consideration, she realized that he was simply giving her one of his serious looks.

"I already tried to talk to Sakura-chan, but like I said... she told me to wait and see if anything else happens. With how friendly Natsumi-chan was to her, though... she's probably surprised about it and still trying to come up with her own answers. As for my mom, I was planning on talking to her again, after I forget what she said earlier. I don't know if she was being serious or playing around. Sometimes it's hard to tell."

Yuugao found herself chuckling, and Naruto frowned at her briefly before turning to look out the window once again.

"So the Fire Princess is all over you because of that mission? I remember you telling me about it... but you didn't seem annoyed by her antics then."

Naruto shrugged, but didn't reply. Yuugao could tell by how brief and tight the shrug he gave was that he had more on his mind than he was letting on. Naruto's body language, she found out long ago, was very easy to read. Seeing that he was leaning forward slightly and his side was exposed, she smirked a little. Reaching her hand forward, she lightly dragged her fingers along the side of his abdomen. He was only wearing his mesh shirt, so she got the desired response. He immediately shot straight up in his seat, then turned and gave her an expression that was a mix between a scowl and a grin, as if he couldn't decide which he wanted to do.

As far as Yuugao knew, she was the only one who knew that Naruto was ticklish, and where his ticklish spot was. It worked wonders when he was younger, and apparently still worked now.

"Come onnnn Naruto-kuuuun. Tell your oneechan everything. You know how much I love gossip! I promise I won't tell Sakura-chan."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her antics. "You won't?"

Yuugao looked away from him, and made it so that when she crossed her fingers he could see it easily. "Nope, not a word to anyone, especially Sakura-chan."

After hearing her brother figure let out an exaggerated sigh, she giggled and turned to look at him once again. He was pouting at her, as he usually did before he opened up.

"Back then... I think I was happy. It's not every day you get someone from nobility saying they want to marry you." Yuugao snorted at that, but Naruto merely shot her a look then continued talking. "But I had loved Sakura-chan for so long, even if it was one-sided... that I didn't really even think about being able to love someone else. The first time Natsumi-chan said she wanted to marry me, I was still bringing her back to all the other guards after I rescued her, so I thought it was just something she was saying because of hero-worship. But then she said it again in front of her aides when we returned to camp, who looked totally stunned. When I turned her down, because I wasn't nobility, two of her aides fainted."

Yuugao started chuckling, and when Naruto looked at her again, she waved a hand apologetically but continued smiling. "Every time I've turned her down, she acts like it's the first time I'm doing it. It happened earlier too, but this time she didn't ask and acted like I had already said yes. The only time that has been different was the third time she asked me and I turned her down. I swear I saw tears in her eyes, and it made me feel rotten. Shibasaki-jiisan was there too... and he... looked disappointed in me. He pulled me aside before Ero-sennin and I left, saying that I was the first person he'd ever see turn down a marriage proposal from someone of the Shibasaki family. I didn't know what to do other than say I was sorry, and I told him about Sakura-chan. He told me that he admired my determination, but was sad that I wouldn't be his grandson... and I spent a long time thinking about what he said.

"Ero-sennin was beating me up about my decision too, but I always found it hard to take anything he said seriously when it came to girls. As punishment, he made sure that we picked up every mission that came from the royal castle, just so we could visit. I saw Natsumi-chan once every three months for a year and a half, at least. Every time she asked me, it never changed. I was flattered... but I still didn't know her other than the mission we went on and our little chats when we visited. I can't say yes to someone I don't know. But... I felt it would be mean to say it like that, that I couldn't say yes because I didn't know her, so I made excuses. I think I was scared too... no one had ever been interested in me as much as she was... at least that I know of.

"Then when we got back to Konoha after almost three years, and I saw Sakura-chan again, I felt it was worth it to say no. My patience paid off too, because I finally heard her say that she liked me before we came out here. I wasn't really expecting to ever see Natsumi-chan again, but when I went on a trip with Ero-sennin just before I got this mission... he dumped me off at the castle while he went looking for his contact. When no one else was around, she kissed me on the cheek. It was the first time I'd been kissed by a girl my age... it was nice... and brought up all those questions again. But then when I got back... Sakura-chan kissed me. So I completely forgot about it..."

Naruto trailed off, his thoughts obviously starting to get jumbled by how he had to start pausing to think about what to say next. Yuugao gently placed her hand on his arm and gave it a little squeeze, but he didn't acknowledge it.

"I'm not really sure what to say, Naruto-kun. Like the Fire Lord, I can respect you for your determination about Sakura... but..."

"But you think I'm also a fool for turning down a member of the royal family?"

Yuugao sighed. "There is no way to sugar-coat this, but as I'm a person with a commoner background, yes - I think it was a foolish thing to do. Did you tell Sakura about any of this before she wanted to date you?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, she didn't find out until just before we entered the meeting room. Nothing had happened between Natsumi-chan and me before then, except for her kissing my cheek, but I see people kiss each other on the cheek all the time as friends... so I didn't think it was something bad. But I didn't really think about Natsumi-chan at all while I was in Konoha."

"Well, the cheek kiss was not something bad, no. It could have been just a friendly gesture, but coming from her I doubt that's the case."

Naruto leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and placing his chin in the palms of his hands. "Now you see my problem. No matter what I tell Natsumi-chan, I don't think she's going to stop. It's been going on for almost two years now. Even when I lied and said Sakura-chan and I were to be married, it didn't stop her at all."

"She probably sees Sakura as a rival now."

Naruto shook his head. "Sort of. At first she said Sakura-chan could be a mistress, and that she saw her as a rival. But Sakura-chan didn't like that, so Natsumi-chan started hugging her arm and talked about going somewhere to get to know her better."

Yuugao merely blinked for a moment as she processed what the blond said, then immediately started to blush and looked away from Naruto so he wouldn't see it. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop thinking about it, and Naruto eventually caught on.

"Is something wrong?"

Yuugao rolled her eyes before turning to look at Naruto again, and upon seeing his clueless expression, she couldn't help but sigh. "Naruto-kun, please tell me you aren't as dense as you're letting on."

If anything his confusion only deepened, evidenced by the furrowed lines in his brow getting larger. Her worry confirmed, Yuugao couldn't help but swat her hand across the side of his head.

"Ow! What is it with people hitting and pinching me for no reason today?!"

Ignoring the rhetorical question, Yuugao shook her head at him. "Naruto-kun, Natsumi-hime boldly gave Sakura an open invitation for the two of them to go somewhere and 'do it'."

"Do what?"

Yuugao wanted to scream, but bit her bottom lip in frustration instead. "Sex, Naruto! Sex!"

Naruto simply blinked, then looked flabbergasted. "I h-had... thought about it. B-but... but, they're.... they're both girls! That doesn't happen!" After a brief pause, his eyebrows scrunched up and he looked down at the floor, muttering out a 'Does it?' more to himself than to Yuugao.

Yuugao pressed the palms of her hands to her cheeks, feeling that they were both still quite warm. "Despite what you may have been taught in school, and what Jiraiya-sama may have attempted to teach you... some people are different from everyone else. Some are boys who like boys, some are girls who like girls, and there are even some who like both boys and girls. It seems our Natsumi-hime may be one of those who likes both boys and girls."

Yuugao watched in the low lighting how Naruto's face immediately started going deeper and deeper shades of red. He continued to look about distractedly, unable to meet her eyes. "I'm not totally stupid! I mean, I do know about it... but... I'd never seen it before."

"From what you tell me of her, Natsumi-hime seems to be very outgoing. There are no rules against liking a person of the same gender as more than just a friend, but it does tend to make a lot of people uncomfortable, so they usually keep how they feel to themselves or to very close friends. Natsumi-hime might find Sakura intriguing since you claimed to be marrying her, so it's likely that she feels getting Sakura to like her will help you like her too. I find it interesting just how far this girl is willing to go to marry you."

Naruto mumbled something under his breath that Yuugao couldn't hear, but it wasn't too hard to figure out what he might have said. She settled for putting a smile on her face and gently rubbing Naruto's back.

"Now I know why Sakura didn't want to talk about it. After Natsumi-hime sort of, well... propositioned her, she's probably wondering what she's going to do about it, just like you. She's also probably too embarrassed to talk to you about it right now; girls can be like that. I know, I am one. She'll come talk to you when she's ready. Or if I decide to make her."

Yuugao felt the reverberations of Naruto's chuckles on her hand, and continued to smile. Now that she thought about it, other than their short talks in the medical building, this was probably the longest they had talked in over a year. After Hayate's untimely death, Naruto had been the closest thing she had to a cornerstone in her life. Talking to him is what got her through every day, those years ago. After he left to go training with Jiraiya-sama, the most she could talk to him was through letters once or twice a month, but she gradually got accustomed to that over time. But their talk now... it brought memories rushing back. The only difference was that then he was helping her, talking her through her problems. Today, she was returning the favor. His carefree attitude about life was the only thing she could attribute to keeping her out of a long depression back then, so the least she could do would be to help him through this awkward... not-quite love triangle now.

"Thanks, Yuugao-neechan. I've missed our talks."

Yuugao couldn't keep the grin off her face. "Stop reading my mind. I was just thinking about that. I've missed them too."

Another few chuckles passed between them, and then they both settled into a comfortable silence. A smirk tugged on the corner of Yuugao's lips as she felt the sudden urge to tease her brother figure about his little problem.

"You know, Naruto-kun, I've been thinking..."

She trailed off, and Naruto turned his head to look at her inquisitively. Yuugao did her best to give him a malicious grin and waggle her eyebrows. "Perhaps you should just marry them both? I can talk to Sakura about it, if you want, and from what you've said I doubt Natsumi-hime would mind at all. Besides, it's only really considered a harem if you have three or more girls, right?"

Naruto's face had gone from curiosity to one of complete shock, he had even jumped up out of his chair so fast that it was knocked over backwards. "H-harem? Wha.... what are you talking about, Yuugao-neechan?! I only love Sakura-chan like that!" The blond's hands went to the sides of his forehead and grabbed at his hair as he shook his head back and forth, eyes shut tight, muttering 'no' over and over again. Finally, he just shouted out something unintelligible as he raised his hands above his head. The bright red blush on his face had returned full force, and was clearly visible in the dimly-lit room.

"I'm... I don't know what I'm doing. But I'm going away. I think I have to go jump in the river or something. Argh!"

Yanking open the door, Naruto quickly stomped out of the room, Yuugao's raucous laughter echoing behind him.

* * *

Sakura slowly walked through Whirlpool Village, examining her surroundings as she headed towards Whirlpool itself. There still wasn't much to look at, yet, but so far the people cleaning the area had done an amazing job. Virtually all of the rubble had been cleared away, and many of the paths had been cleaned up and rebuilt. Granted, they were just gravel now, but it would likely be a while before they could afford to upgrade to cobblestones or something similar. There were a lot of paths that were still just dirt.

Having woken up just a few minutes ago, Sakura rubbed at her eyes as she looked towards the horizon. The sun had not yet appeared, but the sky in that direction was a myriad of colors, many of those playing off the small fluffy clouds in the sky. They had recently entered the beginning of the winter season, however, and unlike Konoha that managed to remain temperate for most of the year, it had taken to getting rather chilly during the nights here. Not cold enough to see her breath yet, but still cold enough to warrant long pants and an excuse to wear her heavy chuunin vest.

She was only headed this way right now to see if Naruto's mother was up and about. Everyone knew that the redhead spent most of her time by Whirlpool, and Sakura had only recently become aware to how little the woman slept. It probably had something to do with what happened in the past - but she felt no reason to pry. Breaking into a jog to try and generate some body heat to keep her warm in the cool morning air, she kept her eyes peeled in the direction where Whirlpool was located. Sure enough, barely a minute later Whirlpool itself came into view, as well as a lone figure going through some sort of routine. As she approached, she could see Kushina's bright red hair, though it was held up and clipped high. The woman was going through some kind of routine with her two swords.

Kushina likely heard Sakura's loud footsteps on the gravel, because she stopped mid-routine to turn and look. As Sakura got closer, Kushina started to put her swords away in their sheaths, which had been lying on the ground nearby. Coming to a stop just inside the gated area where Whirlpool was located, Sakura leaned over slightly, waiting for her breathing to return to normal as she rested with her hands just above her knees.

"Good morning, Sakura."

Standing upright again, Sakura gave the woman a small wave as she walked closer. "Good morning, Kushina-sama. Do you practice here every morning?"

Nodding, Kushina concentrated on strapping the sheaths to her back as she responded. "Yeah, since Keiji helped me reforge them, I need to get used to their weight. I used to keep practicing with bamboo swords while I was hiding away, but that only does so much."

As she approached the redhead, Sakura could clearly see that Kushina was quite red in the face, and some of her hair was matted to her forehead because of sweat. Pretty much as soon as Sakura noticed, Kushina moved over towards one section of the fence that had a towel draped over it... she didn't notice it before.

"So what brings you out here this early? You're normally out cold until almost noon since you usually don't get to bed until late. Have you even slept?" Kushina talked through the towel at times as she wiped at her face.

"No, I had finished my paperwork and had a lot on my mind, so I went to bed early."

"I see. I imagine Naruto was quite the opposite, so instinct tells me that you wanted to talk to me before you talked to him. It wasn't hard to notice how you were avoiding him yesterday."

Feeling a blush rise to her cheeks, and appalled that she had been outed so easily, Sakura quickly turned away, struggling to find something to say. She needn't have worried, however, because Kushina continued.

"There's no need to get embarrassed. I used to be young once, I know something of what you're going through, from the other side of the fence."

Kushina gave Sakura a pat on the shoulder as she spoke, causing Sakura to turn and look at the older woman with no small amount of surprise. "The other side?"

Laughing lightly, Kushina backed up a few steps, then hopped up onto the fence, sitting on it. "I know why you're here. I'm glad you came to talk to me, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to tell you anything you want to hear. You do remember what position I'm in, right?"

Sakura nodded slowly. "You're the leader of Whirlpool."

"Correct. But before I ascended to power after the destruction of my village, I was a priestess in title, though I was commonly referred to as a princess."

Sakura's eyes opened wide as the implications of this slowly settled in her mind, and she finally understood what the older woman was getting at when she mentioned being on the other side of the fence.

"I see you understand. To further clarify things, I'll tell you a little bit about my past. Do you have some free time?"

Looking back over her shoulder to see that the sun had finally started peeking over the distant horizon, Sakura turned back to Kushina and smiled. "I have a few hours. I normally wouldn't be up for a while anyway."

Laughing, Kushina nodded and patted the fence next to her. "Have a seat. This shouldn't take too long."

Sakura did as asked, and Kushina let out a sigh. "I first met Minato - Naruto's father - when I was eight years old. Back then, I was a total tomboy and complete hellion. Jiraiya-sama had stopped by with his genin team one day, so they could see Whirlpool and perform various tasks and exercises. As the heir to the clan, I was of the age where I was responsible for helping any friendly visitors, as needed. I didn't get along very well with them at first, because back then Minato was a stuck up little brat and I really liked proving that I was better than him at ninjutsu. He was at the top of his class in the Konoha Academy, and even graduated early because of his skills, but he absolutely hated the fact that a young girl was better than him at something."

The pink haired teen snorted, causing Kushina to laugh for a moment before she continued. "He might have actually been chuunin by the time we met, but I never really thought about it before. Though it would make sense, since he looked like he wanted to die when I could perform ninjutsu with more precision than he could, and I was three years younger than him without formal shinobi training. Needless to say, we used to get into a lot of fights, physical and otherwise, which Mikoto-nee used to have to break up."

"Mikoto-nee?"

Kushina looked at Sakura for a brief moment before looking away again, a sad smile adorning her features. "Uchiha Mikoto. She was my best friend for a long time. I'm not sure if you know anything about her, but she was the mother of Itachi and Sasuke."

Sakura's eyes were wide open in surprise, but she shook her head. "I had no idea."

Kushina's smile turned into a smirk. "Well, she was. Mikoto was the oldest of our group, and was always the one to put us in our place. It was also thanks to her that Minato finally realized I was really a girl, but that's a story for another day. Anyway, back then, Fire and Whirlpool were very close, and Jiraiya and his team were making visits to Whirlpool perhaps once every other month for a week at a time. After a year or so, Jiraiya stopped coming, but Minato and Mikoto would still come to visit whenever they had a mission nearby, so I still got to see them about once a month.

"As the years went on, the visits became less frequent, but they still stopped by when they could. Occasionally I would even be allowed to go on trips to Konoha to see them. Well, they were missions given to me, but they never stated that I couldn't stray from the mission parameters a little bit." Kushina gave Sakura a wink at that, and the girl found herself covering her mouth as she giggled.

"About the time I was fourteen or so, Minato started appearing in Whirlpool more regularly. I didn't know why, and he wouldn't tell me. He just kept asking me to spar with him, which I had no problem doing. It wasn't until Mikoto showed up one day, begging me to tell her where Minato was, that I found out what was going on. Apparently he had become quite the 'hot item' back in Konoha, and girls were all over him. He had disappeared one day and came to Whirlpool without telling anyone, and they were getting ready to declare him a missing nin. At first I thought it was a rather childish thing for him to do, but it was also about that time when my hormones really started to kick me in the head. I finally noticed that he was rather good looking, and had grown up rather nicely from when I first remembered meeting him. Not only that, he was a genius when it came to fuuinjutsu and genjutsu, and was really good in taijutsu. I know he was good with ninjutsu as well, but I've always been better than him in that department, so my opinion of his skills might have been a bit off at the time. Needless to say, it wasn't until then that I started falling for him too.

Kushina leaned forward and sighed, propping her head up on the palm of her hand as her elbow rested on her thigh. "Unfortunately for me, Minato didn't even really register that I was a girl. I partly blame that on Mikoto, since the two of them were always so close, but having my hair cut short like a boy's didn't help. I didn't really act like a girl, and I wasn't exactly... um... developed, like I am now. Not just that, but Minato always was a bit of a blockhead when it came to being romantic, a trait which I feel my dear son has fallen victim to as well."

Sakura took a moment to look down at her chest briefly as she frowned along with what Kushina was telling her. She could relate in the development department. Things seemed to be changing for her a lot slower than she would have hoped. Sneaking a glance at Kushina as the woman was leaning forward, she could only hope that she ended up as well off as the redhead next to her. As for the blockhead comment, she couldn't help but agree.

"There was a slightly embarrassing event that took place because of Mikoto, that I mentioned earlier, which caused Minato to finally realize I was actually a girl and not just a friend and sparring partner. He disappeared for a while after that, and I only saw him a handful of times over the next two years. I still saw Mikoto and another new friend from Konoha who was paired up with her a lot, Inuzuka Tsume, on a fairly regular basis at least. Both of them would spend some time talking to me about Minato. I was fairly jealous of Mikoto, and even admitted to it, but she told me that her and Minato were just like siblings. They had been through so much together, they almost immediately knew what the other was thinking. However Mikoto had been set in an arranged marriage, which was happening soon, and she wanted me to be her maid of honor.

"I started growing my hair out after she asked, because I wanted to appear more feminine when I had to go to Konoha. The Uchiha were ecstatic that a Princess from Whirlpool was willing to be the maid of honor for one of the members of their clan, and many Uchiha started visiting regularly to give me lessons and such for what to do during one of their traditional wedding ceremonies. I really enjoyed that wedding, not only because I was happy for my best friend, but also because I believe that's where Minato saw me as 'Kushina-chan' for the first time. I'll never forget the look on his face when he saw me all dressed up with my hair grown out, and I don't think his face had ever been as red since that day."

Kushina and Sakura both chuckled, Kushina from her memories and Sakura just from imagining it. She knew that Naruto looked a lot like his father, so it wasn't too hard to get a mental image about what a blushing Minato must have looked like.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them before the redhead started talking about the past again. "The rest of what happened you probably already know the basics of, and there isn't much to tell. Minato started visiting me more regularly after the wedding, often with his genin team in tow. By the time I was sixteen, the third war had started. At eighteen, Whirlpool had been destroyed. By nineteen, Minato and I were officially a couple and I was living in Konoha. The rest, they say, is history."

Another couple moments of silence passed between the two as Sakura absorbed what Kushina told her about the past. Sakura watched as the sun finally appeared from behind the horizon, only to snap back to attention as Kushina began talking again.

"Going back to when I was talking about being aware of the other side of the fence, I was a Princess going after a popular boy. As far as I'm aware, I knew Minato longer and better than anyone else with one exception. Minato had plenty, and I mean plenty of fan girls, I simply had the luck of time on my side. That didn't mean I could slack off in my pursuit of him, there were still times before we started dating that I had to fight for his attention. Hell, even after we started dating, since we kept it quiet, there were occasions I encountered him trying to fight off some grabby broad."

Kushina's face had adopted a look of exasperation, and Sakura was trying hard to hold back her laughter, but couldn't stop the grin that slowly formed on her lips. "But it did work out in the end, right? I mean, Naruto's proof of that."

Nodding, the redhead gave Sakura a small smile. "Yes, it did. Though I had to acknowledge that if Mikoto had not been set up in an arranged marriage, Naruto would likely be an Uchiha today. I once confessed my feelings about that to Mikoto, and she gave me a thorough beating about it." Kushina was silent for a moment. "I miss her. At least Tsume is still around... but we were never as close as I was with Mikoto..."

Unsure what to say, Sakura remained silent, content to once again watch the colors in the sky all shift towards various shades of blue as the sky slowly rose in the east. Another part of her couldn't help but look around in small wonder at the now empty land around them, cleared of most ruins... and how busy this village may have been before it was wiped out during the third war.

"I don't know if you've noticed what I'm getting at, but I find the situation you're in now to be strikingly similar to one I used to be in long ago."

Snapping her head back around to look at Kushina, she quickly started putting the pieces together. It didn't take her very long to understand that Kushina was overall fairly correct. "The only difference is that some positions are switched. You're Natsumi-hime, I'm Minato-san, and Naruto is Mikoto-san."

Kushina looked a little surprised at this thought, her eyebrows raising sharply. "Oh? I hadn't really thought about it that much, but I suppose you are right. I saw a bit of myself in Natsumi, but she's much more feminine than I ever was at that age. But why isn't Naruto compared with his father?"

Sakura frowned before letting out a sigh. "Because I was the one who couldn't look at Naruto as more than a teammate. Not because of other obligations, but because I was blind for a long time. If he wasn't so devoted to me because of his feelings, I'd have lost any chance long ago. He's more like Mikoto-san in that he was completely devoted as a friend, and the thought of becoming more was probably on his mind quite a lot when we were younger. But due to various circumstances, he accepted that it would never be."

"It doesn't look now like it would never come to be."

Sakura gave a heavy sigh and waved her hand. "That's the irony. I used to be head over heels for Uchiha Sasuke. If Sasuke had never left Konoha, who knows what would have happened. It wasn't until Naruto got back from his training trip with Jiraiya-sama that I started seeing Naruto as more than just a teammate and annoyance. I feel horrible about how I totally ignored Naruto back then, and he's forgiven me for it, but that is some guilt I just can't let go of easily. I also think Uzuki-san is closer to Naruto than I am, at times, and I have a hard time stopping the feeling of jealousy. The worst part is that I didn't even know she existed until a few months ago, that just goes to show how little I did know about him."

Another moment of silence drifted between them, and Sakura fretted that she had somehow upset Kushina by explaining how she used to ignore her son. Either that or her admission about her feelings of jealousy towards Yuugao. It wasn't until she heard Kushina snort and chuckle that she felt the tension in her shoulders loosen.

"Well, you're right, that is quite some irony." Kushina scratched at a spot on her temple, then gave Sakura a small grin. There was a bit of a twinkle in her eyes as she started to talk. "As far as Uzuki-san goes, I admit I was a bit jealous at first too. She helped raise my son when I couldn't. But eventually thankfulness overrode that feeling. As for the other point, I don't know how much Natsumi-hime knows about Naruto-kun, or you for that matter, but based on what Shibasaki-dono has said you should likely be prepared for a fight if it comes to that. I know that my son really only has eyes for you, but he is male... so you can't slack off. I don't mean to insult him, but I think it's simply a part of their gender to have their eyes wander, even if unintentionally."

Sakura grumbled, mollified about Yuugao, but still slightly incensed about the second part of Kushina's comments, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning as a result. "Perverts. All of them."

The redhead threw her head back and laughed outright. Taking a breath, she shook her head and gave Sakura a big smile. "Perversion doesn't really have anything to do with it, at least that's what I believe. Naruto has turned red in the face around Rin and myself when we've been dressed casually. He's at that age now where he's curious about everything, but feels embarrassed to look, especially if he got caught. Part of that is probably due to his upbringing, and on the other hand I'm sure Jiraiya-sama has shown Naruto the worst that males can be. So he tries his hardest _not_ to be like that. Of course, as his mother, that means I get to tease him about it... but you won't find me breaking him to pieces over it."

Sakura was only slightly taken aback at the ease to which Kushina would forgive Naruto for looking at what he shouldn't be... _at least not in public_, she corrected herself. "It... sounds like you've done a lot of thinking about that."

Kushina had a small smile on her face still, that Sakura could see from the profile of the woman's face. Kushina turned her head to look at the girl from the corner of her eye. "I missed out on every bit of sixteen years of my son's life. Honestly, I don't think I have any right to beat him over the head if he does things I don't like or agree with. The best I can do is hope to understand the way he thinks, explain to him what I think, and then we both go forward from there. We talk for several hours every day if we're both in Whirlpool, and I daresay that I'm more comfortable around him now than I am around anyone else other than Rin. Part of that may be that on a subconscious level I know he's my son... but I don't think that's it. Something about him is just... comforting."

Sakura couldn't help but smile as she looked at her feet, kicking them slightly so they swayed back and forth. "I know what you mean."

They both chuckled after that, until Kushina spoke up again. "I approve, by the way."

Sakura blushed, believing she knew what the woman was saying, but asked for clarification nonetheless. "Approve... of what?"

The redhead simply gave the younger girl an exasperated look. "I approve of what you and my son have. The relationship. I know that Naruto stunned you with his little marriage lie to get Natsumi off of his back, but even if it came to that, I'd approve."

The blush on Sakura's face grew, and she looked down. "I think it's too soon for us to be talking about that. We haven't even dated for a year... if you can call it dating."

Kushina snorted. "No, I guess you can't. You're right as well, it's likely too soon if you want something that lasts. But... I like you, I think you've got what it takes to keep my son on a leash. I know that it seems like he's ready to bounce off the walls with the amount of energy he has, but whenever you're around, he always calms down. For what it's worth, I'm sure Minato would have approved of you too."

Sakura knew her face had to be bright red at this point. She didn't come to Kushina seeking any kind of approval, but the fact that it was being offered almost moved her to tears. She frantically wiped at her eyes to make sure that she wasn't in fact going to cry. Kushina must have noticed this, because she started chuckling, then gave Sakura a few gentle pats on the back. "Don't get all weepy on me now. Though I have to admit to finding that cute."

"I'm not, I swear!" Sakura quickly turned to Kushina with a smile on her face while blinking her eyes rapidly - causing Kushina to chuckle harder. The smile eventually changed into a pout, and Kushina's chuckles started to quiet down, but the grin remained.

Kushina looked around briefly, only to stop and point at something. "I guess others are starting to move around now too. It looks like there's a group of them that's going to start with the construction. I talked to some of the organizers last night, and they're going to make the academy the priority for now. Hopefully we'll have one up within the month. Perhaps faster, if Naruto-kun is finding that he's bored."

Sakura and Kushina both giggled, only for Sakura to hop off the fence. "I'm guessing you need to go supervise?"

Shaking her head, Kushina followed suit and hopped off the fence as well. "No, actually. If they need me for anything they can come get me. Right now my main job is to assign tasks, which I've done. There will be more work when the governor decides to visit. Until then I've got some free time. Speaking of... are you up for a spar? The only people I get to practice against are Rin and Naruto-kun, so I'd like to measure myself against someone who is apprenticed to another of the Densetsu no Sannin. If you have the time."

Grinning, Sakura started to pull her gloves out of one of her vest pockets. "I've got time. Taijutsu only?"

Kushina smirked. "Taijutsu only. Oh... and none of that chakra reinforcement stuff. I have no plans to spend the rest of my day in the medical ward."

Pouting only slightly, Sakura pulled her gloves onto her hands, and crouched into ready position, a grin slowly moving onto her face. Even though she supposedly already had Kushina's approval, she was determined to make this woman proud of her capabilities with taijutsu. "Ready when you are."

"Good, let's do this." Kushina was testing Sakura's defenses faster than she had anticipated, and quickly found herself re-planting her feet in the ground, much to the redhead's amusement. The two kept testing each other, trading blows back and forth; quickly losing track of time.

* * *

Two hours later, Rin came to get Kushina to let her know that the Fire Lord would be leaving in the next couple hours - only to find the two women sitting back to back. Both were sleeping, and covered with various cuts and bruises. The thing that Rin found most amusing was that they were both grinning in their sleep. She quickly turned around to go grab Naruto and Kakashi so they could see, giggling the whole way.

* * *

**OMAKE**

"This is boring."

Rin looked up from the papers she was sorting through, a task assigned to her by Naruto that she had been more than happy to help with. Staring at Kakashi from where he sat on the other side of the table in the mess hall, her eyes drifted to the book he was looking at. She couldn't make out the cover from where she was sitting, but it looked like it had something to do with history.

"Well, at least it's educational, right?"

Kakashi let out a noise that was a mix between a snort and a grunt, then sighed and closed the book, making a clapping noise with it before he set it on the table. "Can I please go back to Icha Icha? Even Yuugao-san likes them, so you know they can't be as bad as everyone thinks they are."

Rin scowled. "I already told you, you ca-"

"Kakashi-sensei, Kakashi-sensei!"

Rin stopped talking, and both her and Kakashi looked over to the side of the mess hall to see Naruto walking over towards them rapidly. Rin raised her hand in greeting, though slightly perturbed by the expression on his face. Kakashi responded to Naruto in his typically unflappable voice. "Hey Naruto. You're here awfully late. I thought you'd be sleeping by now, with how today has gone."

Naruto grabbed a stool and pulled it over to their table, then let out a sigh as he sat down. "Yeah, well I need help. I don't know what to do about Natsumi-chan. I asked Yuugao-neechan what to do, but she just decided to tease me about it."

Kakashi and Rin looked at each other for a moment before Kakashi grabbed the book he had set on the table, flipping it open again. It was another few seconds before he decided to speak his mind. "Hmmm... WWMD."

Rin's head made a _thunk_ sound as it hit the table, only slightly muffled by the small stack of papers that was between her and the wood. Naruto looked at her with a small amount of concern. "What's a WWMD? I don't get it."

Kakashi chuckled, flipping a page. "It's not an object, it's an idea, really. 'What Would Minato-sensei Do'."

"What would my dad do?"

Kakashi paused, thinking for a moment, then shrugged and flipped another page. "I suppose that works too. Though you'd have to add the extra 'D' in there to make it a proper acronym."

While Naruto just blinked at Kakashi with a look of incredulity, Rin slowly lifted her head from the table and held her head in her hands, hissing barely audible words to her old teammate. "Kakashi! Don't tell him those things! You remember what happened to Obito when Mikoto-oneesan found out about his WWMD notes? He couldn't sit down for over a week!"

Naruto's face immediately paled, but Kakashi simply chuckled. "That's only because he left them in an obvious place. I did warn him. The sock drawer is not the best hiding place, especially when your aunt still does your laundry."

Rin made a sound like a balloon deflating, and dropped her head back to the table.

"Anyway, Naruto. For something like this, it's rather unique. In the past, if Minato-sensei was trying to escape the attentions of a girl, he'd probably skip town for a week, wait for things to cool down..." Kakashi flipped another page, "Then come back only having to deal with Kushina's wrath. Most of the time he only got a few scrapes out of it, which he seemed okay with."

Naruto thought about it for a minute, but then shook his head. "But my mom didn't send my dad through walls with a flick of her finger, did she?"

Kakashi sucked in his breath, wincing. "Ohhhh... yeah. I didn't think about that. Sorry. But on the bright side, the more violent the encounter, the better the make-up sex usually is."

Rin's head shot straight up, snarling. "Hatake!"

Kakashi shot her a glance. "What, it's true..."

"He doesn't need to know that! You want to scar him?"

Kakashi looked back to Naruto, to see him more pale than ever with a dazed look and some drool slowly dripping down his chin.

"Oops."

An empty ink bottle bounced off the side of his head as he turned another page, chuckling.

* * *

**A/N:** I don't know what to say, other than I'm completely humbled by the response I got to my 'begging' last chapter. A huge 'thank you' to everyone who left a review, be it a critique, a simple 'good job', or otherwise. Oh, and for those of you who left critiques, I'm very grateful, and there is no need to apologize for giving them. I was the one who was asking for them, after all. To be honest, I was only expecting in the ballpark of 40 or so reviews, I would have been happy by that number. But I got 94 as of posting this chapter, completely blowing my expectations out of the water. Thank you again. Most of the reviews seemed to agree with my thought that people only review if there is something they urgently need to say, but the large majority of people who read this fic are simply content with it and don't feel the need to say anything... and probably won't until it's done.

I'm going to keep this one relatively short, compared to my spiel last chapter. But I want to hit on some basic points to explain some things that I think will need explaining.

- Natsumi has been planned all the way back since Chapter 6 _(Revelations)_, so it's not like she's a super new development. This story is firmly NaruSaku, though that doesn't mean Naruto can't be intrigued and guilty for feeling that way, and Sakura can't be curious and wary about the Fire Princess. So just keep an open mind and trust in the pairing. Right now they're both in 'panic-mode' and trying to figure out just what to do about her.

- I have a discussion thread for this story at a forum where I've been talking to people about it, and recently posted some answers to various review questions. I also -sometimes- give chapter previews. The thread is here: http :// www. narusaku. com/ index. php? showtopic=8238 - just remove the spaces. You can likely also Google search 'Paradox Jast' and 'Whirlpool Country' to find it. Don't be put off by where the thread is located for those of you who aren't NaruSaku fans, it's a really nice place and I've met some interesting people. That's not to say you even have to register if you don't feel like it, reading the information kept there will be purely voluntary. But it might help if you want the background of the story fleshed out, I'll be posting information about the WPC world, my writing style, as well as Character Bios there.

- Don't expect an Omake at the end of every chapter. I usually only come up with them after talking with my Beta, and it's only recently we've thought of ones that will actually work well within the story. I like them to be something that you could see happening in the story, but are usually just so overblown with... funny?... that you don't see how it could happen. Though I have to admit, with this latest one, it really does seem like it could have happened. So I'll leave it up to you if you consider it having really happened or not, it won't change the story in any way.

- Chapters 16 and 17 have been edited, but Denim is still looking them over. They will probably be up by Monday, if you want to check back then - or you can always wait until Chapter 28 is out. With those two chapters done, that's the last of the big edits for all my past chapters, meaning I can concentrate on moving forward.

That's all. Thanks once again for the reviews. Try not to mind the Natsumi-concern overdose this chapter, things return to... well, mostly-normal next chapter. Going into depth on Natsumi allowed me to explore Kushina's back story a bit. Naruto and Sakura's relationship is still fresh enough that the concern about an outside influence on them is still enough to make them panic slightly, though it's more out of annoyance than anything else.

Though it obviously took a while, this is the second longest chapter I've posted to date.

**Up next:** Messages


	28. Messages Part I

Chapter 28

"You look relieved now that she's gone."

Sakura turned her head and shot a look at her longtime friend and sometime rival. "It's a bit of a weight off my shoulders, that's all. I'm actually surprised that she didn't try to talk to me or Naruto before she left."

Ino offered a mischievous grin as she shrugged her shoulders. Leaning forward, she talked to Sakura in a loud whisper, "Maybe she's just coming up with some kind of plan, and is trying to put you off-guard? From what I've heard and seen of her, it wouldn't surprise me."

Rolling her eyes, Sakura snorted at the blond. "I don't think so. She seems to be too straightforward to be that conniving."

"You can't say that, you've barely even known her for a single day."

"The Fire Lord warned me that she likes to get her way, so I'm expecting something, but I don't think it will be anything sneaky."

Ino merely giggled, smirking at her pink haired friend. "Mark my words, Forehead. She's going to do something that's going to leave you speechless. She's already done it once, so I just know it won't be the last time."

"I hope not..." Sakura's voice trailed off as she blushed a little, folding her arms over her chest and shivering slightly as memories of the girl's actions rose to the forefront of her mind briefly.

Leaning forward once again, the blond smirked and poked at her friends arm. "Maybe you can convince her to go after you, and ignore Naruto, hmmm?"

Blushing fully now, Sakura gasped and took a step away from her friend, swatting at Ino's hand. "Ino-pig! Stop it!"

Ino simply burst into peals of laughter, and Sakura appeared to be having a hard time deciding if she wanted to scowl or laugh along with her friend. Ino's laughter was silenced, however, as another voice spoke up nearby.

"My my, what's so funny girls? Can I get in on the joke?"

Both teenagers turned to see Kushina approaching them with a small grin on her face. The redhead had changed her attire before they saw the Fire Lord off, and was now wearing what she claimed to be the old Priest garb. It looked much like a standard shinobi outfit that a Chuunin or Jounin of the Leaf would wear, except the vest was a grayish-blue that wasn't nearly as bulky. There was also a spiral symbol that looked reminiscent of the one on Konoha vests embroidered on the top left of the vest, near the collar.

Ino chose to answer before the rosette could say anything. "I was just telling Sakura that she should convince Natsumi-hime to go after her instead of Naruto-kun." Ino turned her head slightly, grinning as she watched Sakura from her peripheral vision. "I think Sakura was okay with the idea."

"W-What? I totally was not!" Sakura knew her face was red, but she was hoping that Kushina interpreted it as anger and not embarrassment.

"Oh really? Well, if that's what you've decided, Sakura, I guess I'll have to accept it." Kushina looked down at the ground with a somber expression, and started rubbing her chin. "I feel so sorry for my son though... I wonder how I'll manage to break the news. Kami knows he's already had a hard life."

Sakura's jaw dropped as she listened to Kushina mumble, then turned a scathing glare on Ino, who was trying desperately not to laugh outright. The blond had her hands clamped over her mouth and tears were beginning to form in the corners of her scrunched-up eyes.

"Ino-pig!"

Having her name called caused Ino to stop trying to hide her laughter as she bent forward, clutching at her stomach. Sakura cracked her knuckles, only to hear Kushina start to giggle as well.

"It's alright Sakura. I know how you really feel. But hey, what are friends for?" Sakura shot Kushina an appreciative glance, before turning back to her 'friend'. Ino had finally managed to calm down and was trying to catch her breath, furiously wiping her eyes.

"I'm sorry... ahhhh I'm sorry, Forehead. But the look on your face after Kushina-sama started talking... it was priceless!" Ino burst into fits of giggles again, having a hard time looking Sakura in the eye. Deciding to ignore the blond, Sakura found herself curious about the Fire Lord's departure, and couldn't help but ask Kushina a question.

"Kushina-sama... was the Fire Lord really only here to do the things he mentioned?"

Kushina offered a small nod and a smile. "Yep, that's it. Supposedly he came out here without the knowledge of his council, so he didn't want to stay here any longer than necessary. What he wanted to do didn't take long anyway, as I'm sure you remember."

"I see. Uhm..." Sakura looked away for a moment, before turning back to Kushina. "Did you notice anything strange about Natsumi-hime as they were leaving?"

The redhead paused, thinking. Slowly she began to shake her head negatively. "No... not really. She was the quietest I've seen her since we met the first time, and didn't ask to talk to Naruto-kun. Other than that, she was very polite and reserved. So unless you find that unusual, she was a perfectly normal princess."

"I bet Forehead thinks she's planning something." When Sakura chose not to reply, Ino's voice returned, sounding incredulous. "What, you think she really is planning something?"

Sakura faced her friend once again. "You said it yourself; you bet she's going to do something that will leave me speechless."

Ino shrugged, frowning. "I was just joking to get a rise out of you. But if you really think she will... it might be serious."

"Hopefully not. I'll have to talk to Naruto and see what he thinks. Speaking of... did either of you see where he went after the Fire Lord left? I was going to go talk to him then, but Ino-pig distracted me."

The blond simply scoffed as Kushina answered Sakura's question. "Yes, actually... he pulled Hanabi away to give her some lessons while he had some free time. He mentioned to me that he was expecting to be rather busy soon, he's waiting for some information from Itachi-kun."

"On Akatsuki's movements?"

Kushina looked at the two girls, who were staring at her with rapt attention. The redhead simply shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't press for details, he seems to hold Itachi-kun in rather high regard now, and I understand if he can't say much."

"But still, if he has information he can share about the Akatsuki, Konoha can definitely use that information!" Ino looked rather put-out, but calmed down when Sakura placed a hand on her shoulder.

"If we act on information too soon, others in Akatsuki will know there is a leak. So we have to be careful."

Ino simply sighed and nodded, understanding though not wanting to accept the explanation. It made sense, and what Itachi was doing was very risky.

"Oh! Karin just sent me a pulse, she's nearby. I guess her group found their last member, I sense four of them approaching our location quickly." Kushina lifted her arm and pointed towards the southwest, and the other two girls could barely make out moving splotches of color that were steadily growing larger as they moved through the sparse trees. Silence fell over the group as they watched Karin and her group approach, as all were likely forming their own opinions about the group. Sakura wasn't sure what to feel about the group, and was mostly just trying to hold back her surprise that Sasuke continued to return to the outpost, considering that it consisted mainly of Leaf shinobi.

In less than a minute the group had landed in front of them, Karin immediately moving forward from the rest and giving Kushina a small bow. Kushina nodded at the other redhead and said something that none of the others could hear, but the other girl smiled at the older woman. Sakura and Ino stared pensively at the group, especially the large orange-haired boy in the back of the group, but their attentions quickly shifted towards Kushina once again as they heard the woman speak.

"So you must be Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked at Kushina, and simply inclined his head forward slightly. "You must be the Uzumaki Kushina-sama that Karin talks about."

"Correct." Kushina smiled at him, but it quickly shifted into something more melancholy. "You look so much like your mother..."

Sasuke stiffened immediately, his eyes narrowing dangerously. It wasn't too hard for everyone to feel the tension growing, and Karin even took an involuntary step backwards away from the other redhead, eyes wide.

"Don't talk about my mother." The tone of voice did more than enough to impress upon everyone present that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Looking a bit put off by this, Kushina frowned at the dark-haired teen as she folded her arms under her chest. "Why can't I? She was my best friend and the closest thing I had to a sister. I think if anyone other than you or your brother deserves to talk about her, it's me."

It was clear for everyone present to see that Sasuke was quickly growing more agitated. His eyes had since closed, and his hands were constantly clenching and releasing. Another boy, the one with white hair, was giving Sasuke strange looks and slowly inching away from him. The one with orange hair, however, still hadn't moved, and was giving Kushina an odd stare.

"Besides that, I think I get some special privileges as your godmother."

Both Sakura and Ino covered their mouths with their hands, while Karin turned her head sharply to look at Sasuke. Said boy's eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly gaping in shock for the briefest of moments before they returned to normal. "Godmother, huh? So you're the one my mother talked about. I have vague memories."

Kushina slowly nodded, the smile reappearing. "Mikoto-nee was also my son Naruto's godmother." Sasuke's eyes went wide again, and he looked like he was going to say something, but Kushina was looking down towards the ground and continued talking before he could say anything. "The saddest part is that according to Itachi-kun, Mikoto-nee wasn't supposed to die that night. She should still be here now." Kushina sighed, before looking back up again, only for her eyes to go wide as she noticed the pure rage on Sasuke's face.

"You've had contact with Itachi?"

Kushina was looking at Sasuke in confusion now, but was concentrating on him so much that she was completely missing the signals and looks being sent by both Sakura and Ino. "Well... once. He was here not too long ago, and talked to Naruto-kun and Jiraiya-sama about some things regarding Akatsuki, but that's all I know."

Sasuke's expression gradually evened out, and there were several moments of silence. Kushina's gaze finally flickered over towards Sakura and Ino, only to see the blond shaking her head while Sakura was looking down, rubbing her forehead. Frowning, Kushina looked back to Sasuke once again, only to find him staring at her with his Sharingan activated.

"Where is Naruto?"

* * *

Hanabi inhaled deeply, trying to catch her breath after the latest bout with her sensei. She heard Naruto's amused chuckle as she slowly fell to her backside, then let her torso fall backwards onto the rough grass. They had barely been here for twenty minutes, and he already had her gasping for air. She just laid there, staring up at the sky, until her sensei walked over, causing a shadow to fall over her face. Leaning over slightly, he gave her one of his infuriatingly big grins, to which she responded by sending him a mock glare.

"Tired already Hanabi-chan? We're just getting started!" He chuckled at her antics, only incensing her further. The anger quickly dissipated, however, when she realized she didn't have the energy to bother arguing with him.

"I'm not... a stamina machine like you, sensei."

"I know. But you will be soon. You're already lasting longer than you did when we started. You need a lot of stamina if you want to have the chakra to use in techniques."

Hanabi watched as her sensei did some stretching exercises as he talked to her. That was the biggest difference between Naruto and anyone else she had considered a teacher before... he was the only one who was willing to exercise alongside her. As much as she wanted to gripe that these exercises would do nothing for her, deep down she knew that wasn't the case. Naruto obviously did them, and he was ridiculously strong. That much was evident whenever they sparred. Naruto never pulled any punches, and she certainly had the bruises to prove it. When they had first started she complained about it, until he shut her up by calling her a spoiled brat. Initially she recoiled in shock, as he had never talked down to her before. But that quickly turned into rage at his implication. Just as she was about to launch into another verbal tirade, he silenced her completely with one simple question.

"If you were on a mission and facing an opponent, would you ask them to stop hitting you so that you won't get a bruise?"

Of course the answer to that was no. Deep down she knew that her sensei was correct, but part of the lingering Hyuuga pride within her was fighting against her simply accepting what Naruto said and did to her at face value. Most of her previous teachers had pampered her, told her she was doing well even when she likely was not. Everything about her life as a shinobi in training had been turned upside-down when Naruto began teaching her. All it took was remembering what her sensei had done to Neji in the past for her to understand he was doing the same thing to her... just not all at once.

Groaning, Hanabi pushed herself to sit up, the muscles in her lower back and arms screaming at her to stop what she was doing. Making rather unladylike grunting noises, she shifted her legs so that she could gain leverage as she continued pushing herself unsteadily to her feet.

"Hanabi-chan?"

She was panting, but turned her head to the side to see Naruto watching her with a concerned look.

"What?"

"I was joking before... if you need to rest, I'm okay with that."

Hanabi just looked at her sensei incredulously before pointing a finger at him and snarling, "Weren't you the one who... said that I needed to push myself... to my limits if I was ever going to... become stronger?"

Naruto looked clearly taken aback for a moment before his face clouded over. "That's true, but I don't need you injuring yourself badly. If I do, the medics will never let me hear the end of-"

The blond disappeared in a blur faster than Hanabi's tired eyes could track. There was a faint scuffling noise behind her, and turning to look, she saw her sensei standing near a tree, looking calm but a little angry. Several meters from him was someone she didn't recognize at first, but he was walking towards a long sword that was sticking out from the ground.

"What do you want, Sasuke?"

Hanabi's eyes widened at hearing her sensei's voice. There was an underlying gruffness as he spoke that she had never heard from him before. The look on his face was also one that she couldn't ever recall before... it could have passed either as pity or contempt. This Sasuke, however...

"Where is Itachi?"

Sasuke's voice sounded calm, deep, and controlled. His body movements all spoke clearly of aggression, however, and his one free hand was clenched into a tight fist. Based on what she could see from the back of the older boy, he was likely her sensei's old teammate. Sure, she knew of him, everyone in Konoha was aware of his betrayal. Technically he was a missing nin, though their village had yet to place a bounty on his head for some strange reason. After the village had heard Sasuke killed Orochimaru, the rumor mill started working full-time, stating that perhaps Sasuke was undercover the entire time and his betrayal was all an act. Seeing the way he was acting towards her sensei, however, led her to believe that those rumors were most definitely false. Sasuke was clearly a rogue.

Crouching slightly, Hanabi quietly activated her Byakugan. She could easily see how the chakras of the two young men in front of her were making a lie of their outward appearances. Sasuke was clearly agitated, his chakra was flowing through him in intense spurts, almost as if it was itching to be released.

Naruto's on the other hand, was completely calm. His chakra pathways were large and it was always easy to read what he was going to do since he simply had so _much_ chakra, but what Naruto could do always overwhelmed her meager supply, so knowing what it was going to do helped her in no way whatsoever. Part of her was surprised that her sensei didn't seem agitated in the least, considering what she knew of their history, but at the same time it brought a ghost of a smile to her face. She could definitely take pride in having a sensei who was... well... _cool_.

Slowly stepping forward, one of her hands started sliding towards the kunai pouch on her waist, she was completely shocked when a hand clamped itself over her mouth, while an arm wrapped around her torso, holding her steady. Before she could even contemplate any form of retaliation, a quiet but familiar voice whispered into her ear.

"I know what you're thinking, Hanabi-chan, but boss has it covered. Are you going to be quiet?"

Hanabi nodded slowly, and felt the hand remove itself from her mouth, but the other arm continued to hold her tightly. She was aware of Naruto and Sasuke talking to each other, but now her current... assailant... had gotten her focus. Turning her head to the side, she saw the slightly grinning visage of her sensei. Or more accurately, one of his clones.

"How did you know what to do in such a short amount of time? There's no way Naruto-sensei could have given you orders like he normally does."

She heard the chuckle, but also felt the rumbling of laughter from the clone's chest against her back. It wasn't until then that she remembered her sensei commonly practiced with her while only wearing his mesh shirt, and a quick glance towards him confirmed that he still wasn't wearing his jacket. A slow blush that she couldn't control started working its way onto her face, until she felt a finger poking against the side of her head.

"Boss just gives us verbal orders just for show, Hanabi-chan. When he creates clones, we get all of his most recent thoughts. So I knew as soon as he made me to wait and hide until Sasuke-teme was focused on him, then to make sure you didn't do anything that could get you hurt. Don't take this the wrong way, but he's out of your league. Boss believes that Sasuke-teme would hurt you just to get at him."

At first Hanabi felt like arguing that point, until she realized that it wouldn't be worth it. She certainly didn't -want- to be injured, but she didn't want Naruto-sensei to be injured either. Finally she settled with nodding so that the clone would see it. She felt it relax its grip on her slightly, but it still held on. The Hyuuga started blushing again as she realized that it probably wouldn't be letting her go, and that was confirmed as the clone's other arm wrapped around the first one and started forcefully tugging her backwards, away from the other two who's conversation seemed to be getting slightly heated.

"U-um, you don't have to hold me... I can walk on my own!" It was said in a harsh whisper, but she could have sworn her voice cracked in the beginning, much to her embarrassment. It wasn't that she was attracted to her sensei or anything, but she was a growing girl and anyone would have to be blind not to see that he was _good looking_. The clone must have sensed her embarrassment in some way, because much to her horror it leaned over one of her shoulders to get a look at her blushing face. She let out a small 'eep' and quickly looked away, only to feel the clone hold her tighter and chuckle in her ear.

A cracking noise made her face forward again, only to open her eyes wide as she saw the Uchiha flying backwards, almost directly at them. Right as she thought about moving out of the way, she felt herself lifted off her feet and moved away. Hanabi couldn't think of anything after she was set down and saw the smoke of the clone dispelling from behind her. She had been moved faster than she had ever been able to move on her own before. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turned to see her sensei - the real one - giving her a small, if controlled smile.

"Are you okay, Hanabi-chan?"

She nodded quickly. "Y-yes, sensei."

His smile grew a little, "Good," then completely disappeared as he looked back towards where Sasuke flew. It was then that Hanabi noticed someone else had arrived... several people, in fact. Kushina-sama was standing not too far in front of her, her fists clenched and she was visibly shaking. Ino and Sakura, as well as a few other people had arrived that Hanabi didn't recognize. The two girls started moving towards them as Kushina-sama pointed at Sasuke, who was currently climbing to his feet and rubbing his face, glaring at her.

"Listen to me, Uchiha, and listen good. I'm going to let you off the hook this time since you are my godson. But if you ever, and I mean _ever _use your Sharingan on me again, I will gladly give you the beating that I owed your father."

The shock was clearly visible on Sasuke's face, even as he was rubbing where he was hit. He even stopped moving to his feet, instead the raven-haired teen remained crouching on his knees as several emotions changed his expression in a quickly morphing series. If the situation wasn't obviously serious, Hanabi felt that she might even have laughed at how stupid he looked. It wasn't until she heard a small growling noise that she quickly turned to face her sensei, who was still standing next to her.

However, Naruto was hunched over slightly, hands covering his face. She could hear the muffled growling through his hands, and was starting to grow worried because he seemed to be shaking slightly.

"Sensei? Are you alright?"

Her voice made him stop all movement, and the sounds he was making stopped as well. Still, he didn't remove his hands from his face. At this point Hanabi believed her voice had brought the attention of everyone else onto her sensei as well, since Sakura had placed a hand on his arm, and even Kushina-sama had partly turned around.

"Naruto? What's wrong?"

Almost as if on cue, Sakura's voice made him start trembling again, but this time he slowly pulled his hands down from his face. Much to her own dismay, Hanabi found herself stumbling backwards a step. It barely registered that the face she saw now was that of her sensei... the special markings on his face that she personally always thought were rather cute, they had elongated and become much darker... making the sneer on his face look absolutely sinister. His teeth were clenched, she could see the sharp outline of his jaw as the skin pulled tightly against the jawbone. His canines were razor sharp and almost went down to his lower gum line. The thing that stood out most, however, was his eyes. They were a blood red with long black slits that went down the middle, making him look almost inhuman.

None of that set her hair on end, however, until he spoke. She clearly heard his voice, it was deep and rough, but there was something else behind it that made her shiver.

_"Sharingan... Sasuke used... the Sharingan... on my mother..."_

The way Naruto's mouth opened and closed made it look like he wanted to say more, but he abruptly grabbed at his forehead and fell to his knees, coughing. Hanabi clearly heard a chorus of 'Naruto!' being called out, and watched as the two girls close to him crouched down on either side from where he had fallen over. She turned her head slightly to see that even Kushina-sama had stopped facing off against the Uchiha, and was swiftly moving towards her son with a serious look on her face.

Looking even further, beyond to where the Uchiha... Sasuke was, she saw that he had decided to simply sit back down and was currently watching the goings on with a rather impassive look. He was no longer holding his face, but Hanabi could easily see a dark red mark had left a lasting imprint on his cheek. There were two others near him who were crouched down and looking in Naruto's direction as well... one was a male teen with short white hair, the other was a girl with long red hair that reminded her of Kushina-sama. She recognized them offhandedly, but still didn't know any of their names.

Another chorus of startled exclamations made her head whip back around to see what was the fuss, only to catch a final glance at her sensei as he took off faster than she could see. He did move past her, however, as the gust of wind from whatever technique he used sent her sprawling back onto her already sore back with a startled yelp. She saw spots in front of her eyes as she looked up at the sky, but couldn't recall being incoherent. She must have been, however, because when she finally understood what had happened, she found Sakura and Ino looking at her with pensive expressions.

"Hanabi? Can you hear me now?"

Hanabi groaned, then began rubbing her forehead. After blinking her eyes a few times, it wasn't hard to notice the look of relief on Ino's face.

"I'm fine... what happened?"

She was looking at the blond, but Ino turned her head to look at Sakura. Turning her head as well, the first thing she noticed was the small grin on Sakura's face. The pink haired girl had a hand against the side of her head, Hanabi could barely see a green glow from her peripheral vision.

"When Naruto took off, apparently a gust of wind from his technique literally blew you off your feet. You landed mostly on your back, but your head hit the ground hard enough to give you what I'd call a very minor concussion. It seems like you were aware, but you didn't respond until I checked and forced you out of the stupor you were in. You'll be fine, though I'd take it easy and not move too quickly for the rest of the day, just to be safe."

"Okay... where's Naruto-sensei, anyway?"

Sakura looked at Ino for the briefest of seconds before looking at Hanabi once again and giving a small shrug. "We don't know, but Kushina-sama said she'd follow him, and to let her handle whatever has gotten into him."

Hanabi sighed and closed her eyes, thinking back to what Naruto looked like before he took off. She didn't know he could do that... whatever 'it' was. It was true that she had never seen him in a real fight yet, but whatever it was that was happening to him, he'd never mentioned it to her before either.

Cracking one eye open, she noticed that Ino was looking away, but Sakura seemed to still be concentrating on healing her in some way. She certainly did feel less sore than she remembered... "Hey, why did Naruto-sensei look so strange before? I'd never seen him like that when we sparred."

Ino quickly whirled back around to look at her in surprise, while one of Sakura's eyebrows merely arched upward. "You mean to tell me that he hasn't told you yet?"

"Told me what?"

Sakura closed her eyes and sighed, while Ino started to give Sakura a sharp look. "Do you think we should say anything?"

"I don't know. I'm actually surprised that he didn't say anything, I thought it would have been one of the first things he did. Unless he completely forgot, which wouldn't surprise me."

Ino snorted, while Hanabi found herself growing much more confused than before. "So does this mean there's something going on that you can't tell me, or what?"

"Well, we can probably tell you the basics, but if you have any questions it will probably be Naruto that has to answer them. What do you think, Ino?"

The blond nodded. "Yeah, she deserves to know. I guess I'll start... Hanabi-chan, what can you tell me about the Kyuubi?"

* * *

It didn't take long for Kushina to find her son, his chakra was acting rather erratically, causing her no small amount of concern. He hadn't moved far in the direction that he had fled either, leading her to believe that he just wanted to get away from the group to bring whatever was causing him distress under control.

Landing silently nearby, she saw her son sitting with his back against a tree, his head lolling down, both of his arms and hands unmoving on either side. He looked to be breathing heavily, but she couldn't be sure.

"Naruto?"

He twitched a bit when he heard is name, but otherwise made no move to respond. Moving closer, she noticed that there was an oddly-colored wet looking patch of grass next to him, apparently he had emptied the contents of his stomach. A frown finding itself on her face, Kushina moved even closer, getting down onto her knees next to him.

"Naruto, what's wrong?"

Her son slowly lifted his head, resting it back against the tree. He kept his eyes closed, but let out a sigh.

"I wanted to kill him. I barely stopped myself."

The redhead found her mouth twitching upward into a ghost of a smile, but Naruto didn't seem to think it was anything to be proud of or even amusing, so she kept the full smile off of her face. She wanted to smile and hug him right then, especially considering what he'd told her of his past between himself and Sasuke, and what he would do to his old friend for her sake. Unconsciously she found her hand playing with Naruto's spiky blond hair, and noticed him twitch once again when he felt her hand... but he quickly relaxed after.

"Well... even if it's not something you want to hear, I'm glad to hear you want to protect your mother. I don't think that would cause my son to run away like he did, though."

The redhead's statement was meant as a question, but she said it forcefully enough for Naruto to understand that she wasn't going to let him get away without giving her some sort of explanation. Sighing again, his head leaned slightly into her hand, and Kushina shifted her position to sit next to him instead of being crouched.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure what's going on. I knew that being a shinobi meant that I would have to kill people. Before I went to Rice Field Country, I'd never fully killed anyone before. Sure, I'd attacked plenty of people, and some of those I've attacked might have died eventually if someone else didn't kill them or if they didn't get some kind of medical attention. But I'd never directly been responsible for a person's death before. I have a bunch of flashy attacks, but almost all of them will only incapacitate, not kill."

Naruto took a deep breath and paused for a moment. While Kushina found it interesting that someone who had been given so much responsibility had never fully taken a life before, she decided to be silent and let him finish before she asked any questions of her own.

"When we went to help Kakashi-sensei and the others who were attacked, and I saw Yuugao-neechan get hurt, I lost it. The people who hurt her, I just wanted to kill them, and I didn't care how I did it. I did kill them, and almost anyone else." Naruto rubbed at his cheek briefly before he continued. "However, the last time I used that much of the Kyuubi's power, I didn't remember anything. I was unconscious until Yamato-taichou or Ero-Sennin managed to pull me out of it. This time, however... I was actually aware."

Kushina's eyebrows shot sky-high at this revelation. "So you mean you remembered killing all those shinobi? You wanted to continue?"

"I wanted them to die, yes. But I don't really feel like I was the one who actually did it. It was strange, I felt like I was in a dream even though I knew I was awake. It was like I would think about what I wanted to happen, and something else would do what I wished. The first thing I really remember that made me aware was when I heard your voice."

"Why?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. I heard your voice, and I knew I didn't want to hurt you. Other than that, the only other thing that I really remember is wanting to protect Yuugao-neechan. Then after you touched me I felt like I was waking up after sleeping, but I still felt really tired. The next time I woke up we were back in Whirlpool."

"Do you think we should have Jiraiya-sama check the seal when he gets back from wherever he is?"

Naruto shrugged again. "I don't know if he'll be able to say what's going on, but it can't hurt to have him check, I guess."

There was silence between the two as Kushina digested what her son just finished explaining to her. But she was still curious as to why he decided to go back a few months to explain what was happening now.

"So... how is what happened then connected to now?"

Naruto was silent for about a minute before he chose to reply, most likely thinking about the best way to explain the connection.

"When I went to Rice Field Country, I had to perform a mission for the council of Sound to even consider what I had planned. Of course I agreed, but I didn't tell them that I had never killed anyone when I hadn't called on the Kyuubi before. I wanted to at least _act_ like a professional shinobi. I did have to kill someone... but I only killed that one person. My clones simply maimed other targets to the point were some of them might have died, but I didn't immediately kill any. However, that one person... I think what scared me more was not the fact that I had killed someone, but the fact that I didn't feel bad at all about killing them.

I thought I would feel remorse, or feel sick, or upset at taking a life. But nothing like that happened. I looked right into his eyes as I sliced through his neck and grabbed his hair to keep his head falling from falling to the ground with the rest of his body. I didn't even blink."

"Did it make you feel... good?"

Naruto shook his head negatively. "No, if it did I would have been even more upset. It was kind of odd though, feeling absolutely nothing. After remembering some of the... particularly brutal deaths that I caused while Kyuubi was in control, I guess a relatively simple one like cutting off someone's head didn't bother me."

Kushina's hand moved from Naruto's hair to slowly rub the side of his arm that was next to her. She squeezed his bicep briefly, causing him to turn his head and glance at his mother. "So you were afraid that you've been numbed to the thought of killing someone, and had an urge to do the same to Sasuke?"

Barely nodding, the blond leaned his head back against the tree once more. "It was my first thought when you mentioned the Sharingan. I wanted to hurt him because he used it on you. Eventually, for some reason, I thought it would be better to just kill him after all the trouble he's given me in the past. Once that thought got stuck in my head and I was thinking about _why_ I would want to kill him, the urge just continued building until Hanabi-chan asked me if something was wrong. It wasn't until then that I actually panicked."

Kushina nodded imperceptibly. "Your voice did sound a little strange."

Unlike the redhead, however, Naruto shook his head abruptly. "I didn't talk. I wasn't controlling my voice."

This particular bit of information caused Kushina to recoil slightly, something which her son noticed. She noticed the hurt look on his face, and immediately felt guilty. "I-I'm sorry, honey. I wasn't quite expecting to hear that. I'm guessing that this isn't something that's happened before?"

Frowning, Naruto nodded. "Never before, no. My voice was saying what I was thinking, but I knew that I wasn't the one talking. It made me panic, and forcefully get rid of any urge to hurt anyone. I ran away to make sure that I had control before I encountered anyone else."

"I see. You do know, in your haste to get away, that you knocked your student backwards and made her hit her head?"

Naruto visibly blanched, his mouth agape. "W-What? I didn't mean to, I mean I just wanted to make sure I-"

Kushina held a hand up, causing her son to stop talking as she gave him a small smile. "Sakura told me that the girl would be fine. I'm sure if you explain what happened, Hanabi will be sure to forgive you. Besides, I think it's about time you told everyone who doesn't know about the Kyuubi that you are its jailor anyway. I don't think it could do any harm at this point."

Naruto pondered his mothers words for barely a moment before nodding. "I might as well. I've already gotten the acceptance of everyone that I really wanted it from anyway. I'm a little worried about Hanabi-chan, but I think she'll understand."

* * *

When the two Uzumaki arrived back to where they were before the incident, the small crowd that had gathered previously was no longer present. There were currently only four people there: Sakura, Hanabi, Kakashi, and Nayoko.

"Hey, Hanabi-chan. I'm sorry about earlier."

Instead of accepting his apology, Hanabi merely looked confused. "Sorry for what?"

"You know, for knocking you over when I ran off."

Hanabi blinked for a second before giving him a shrug and a small smile. "No big deal, sensei. It wasn't the first time you've knocked me on my ass."

It was Naruto's turn to blink for a few seconds as the others snickered at Hanabi's choice of vocabulary. The blond couldn't help but grin as he placed his hand on top of the shorter girl's head, then proceeded to tousle her hair. Swatting at the offending appendage, Hanabi scowled at him, only causing Naruto to laugh outright.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, not to interrupt this adorable bonding moment, but we have some information that requires your attention."

Even though her voice didn't sound that urgent, he had learned that his cousin Nayoko was a woman of few words. However when she did talk, it was generally a wise idea to listen. "What's up Nayoko?"

Instead of replying, the other Uzumaki simply turned her attention to Kakashi, who seemed to stand up straighter.

"Well, you see... we seemed to stop an intruder at the entrance to the Outpost. However, it feels strange to call this person an intruder."

Narrowing his eyes at how reluctant Kakashi seemed to be to report an intruder of all things, he remained quiet and beckoned for the shinobi veteran to continue.

"It would seem that Natsumi-hime decided to abandon the caravan she was traveling with, and managed to work her way back here. She also has her little brother and one of her servants with her as well, and they both seem rather... exasperated about the whole thing. But whenever we try to get information from them, Natsumi-hime interrupts and claims she dragged them along, and they know nothing."

At first, Naruto wanted to groan at the whole thing. "But how did she get away from the Twelve Guardians? Especially her personal guard? It doesn't make sense."

Naruto easily spotted the frown on Sakura's face, and it only seemed to get larger when Kakashi pulled a folded piece of paper from one of his vest pockets. Everyone in the small group stared at it curiously as it passed from Kakashi's hand to Naruto's. Feeling uneasy about the whole thing, Naruto clenched his jaw as he slowly unfurled the piece of paper.

_Naruto-kun and Kushina-sama,_

_My granddaughter wishes to learn more about the management of outposts and villages as it pertains to her future duties of Fire Country. She wishes to gain experience in assisting you with any potential diplomatic and socio-economic duties that both of you may deem appropriate for her to sit in on. I believe that this will be a good learning experience for my granddaughter._

_Since I do not wish for her to be seen only as a burden or annoyance, I will be making this a mission. You shall find that your outpost will not be lacking for funds while Natsumi is under your care, I will send you the mission scroll upon my return to the capital. Please do your best in regards to her safety. Shuugo will be with her as well to do his best to keep her in line, should it be needed. If you would do an old man a favor and make sure that you afford him the same protections you give my granddaughter, it would be greatly appreciated, and definitely remembered._

_Thank you,_

_Kiyoshi_

Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Naruto handed the letter over to his mother, who proceeded to read it. Naruto kept his eyes closed and crossed his arms as he first heard his mother snort, then let out a whistle.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that. Talk about a sly girl."

Naruto opened his eyes as he heard Sakura groan next to him. "You guessed what it's about, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura rubbed her forehead as she nodded. "I'm betting that Natsumi-hime managed to find a way to be a thorn in our sides for a little bit longer."

Naruto found himself sighing. "Yeah, but at least we're going to get paid for it."

"Ah, so it's going to be classified as a protection mission then?"

Naruto nodded at his old sensei. "Yeah. She managed to convince the Fire Lord to let her come here to get hands-on experience for diplomacy and other things in Whirlpool. While she's here, we'll be getting paid for a protection mission. It isn't said how much, but I'll be getting the scroll later, and he specifically said that we wouldn't be hurting for funds."

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, I guess that has to soften the blow at least a little bit."

The blond merely shrugged, while Sakura let out another sigh. Hanabi and Nayoko didn't look like they really understood what was going on, and decided to remain quiet about the whole thing. But the fact that a princess would be staying with them was not lost on them, either.

"Well, let's try to make the best of it, at least. Nayoko, if you'd be a dear and let Keiji know I need to talk to him, he can meet me at the new Academy construction area."

Nayoko nodded as Kushina leaned slightly to the side to give her son a peck on the cheek, then waved to everyone else and promptly disappeared.

"Anything else to report, Kakashi-sensei?"

The silver-haired Jounin looked at his old student for a brief moment, then slowly shook his head and gave the teen one of his 'eye-smiles'. "Nope, that was the last bit of exciting news for the day."

"I see. If you could do me a favor and find Sasuke, then let him know I'll send a message to Itachi but I don't know when I'll hear back, I'd appreciate it. I don't really feel like looking at him right now. When that's done, if you could get Natsumi-chan, her servant, and Shuugo a place to stay that would be great. Either that or find someone else to do it."

Kakashi chuckled again before nodding. "Consider it done." That said, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Next, the Tokubetsu Jounin turned to his student, "So, Hanabi-chan, shall we pick up where we left off before we were interrupted?"

Hanabi smiled, but shook her head. "Sakura-san says I should take the rest of the day off so that there are no problems. I didn't hit my head on the ground that hard, but she said I'm better off being safe rather than sorry."

Naruto frowned, turning his head to look at Sakura, who simply nodded at him. Looking back to Hanabi, he sighed. "All right. Enjoy the rest of your day while I go slave away at something mundane in my office. I'm sure there's at least one report in there by now that's screaming for my attention."

Sakura giggled next to him. "Well, it's either that or seeing what Natsumi-hime is up to."

The blond visibly shivered. "I'd like to avoid that as long as I can. I'm sure I'm going to be plenty uncomfortable in the coming days."

"You aren't the only one. I think she's going to come after me to get to you."

Thinking back on his conversation with Yuugao, Naruto suddenly found himself blushing at that comment.

"You had better not be thinking what I think you are."

Naruto was quick to look at Sakura with wide eyes and his hands held up in front of himself in a surrendering gesture. "W-What? Of course I wasn't thinking about you and Natsu- oh shit."

"So you _were._" Sakura's face was beet red too, to the point that Naruto literally had to do a double-take and make sure he wasn't seeing things. Upon seeing the look on her face, however, Naruto did the only thing he could think of that was even remotely safe. He swiftly moved behind Hanabi, ducked behind the girl, and held her arms in his hands to keep her from moving.

"Back, back I say, Sakura-chan! I have a Hanabi-chan and I'm not afraid to use her!"

Naruto couldn't say for sure since he couldn't see Sakura clearly anymore, but he swore he heard at least some giggling, which likely meant that his punishment wouldn't be as severe as it might have been otherwise. It wasn't until the silence dragged on that he thought something strange might be going on. Looking over Hanabi's shoulder, he saw Sakura with a wicked grin on her face.

"Hey, what's going on?"

To his surprise, it wasn't Sakura that answered, but was Hanabi instead. "It's nothing to worry about, sensei. But Sakura-san says that she hopes you have a nice nap."

Naruto had turned his head to look at Hanabi's profile as she talked, but his gaze moved back to Sakura as Hanabi finished talking. He saw the smile still on her face, but before he could ask a further question, Hanabi yanked an arm from his grip and lightly tapped his forehead and temples four times in quick succession with a chakra-laced fingertip.

The last thing he remembered as he fell backwards was the darkness closing in on his vision, Sakura offering him a 'V' for victory, and Hanabi's smirk as she looked at him over her shoulder.

* * *

"Nice work, Hanabi-chan."

Hanabi simply nodded at the medic, then turned to look at her now-snoring sensei. "He looks cute when he's sleeping."

Sakura giggled at the assessment, but wholeheartedly agreed. "Let's move him to my office, we don't need anyone else coming across him and doing something to him that would make me regret leaving him out here."

"Anyone like a certain princess that I've been hearing about, I'd guess?"

Sakura's wide eyes caught the rather evil-looking grin on the Hyuuga's face, and she couldn't help but scowl, never mind the blush she knew was creeping back onto her face. "Quiet, you."

"Whatever. So what are you going to do with him while he's in your office?"

"Nothing. What makes you think anything is going to happen?"

"Well, considering you want him in your office when we could just put him in the barracks, or in a medical ward, or perhaps even _his own bed_?" Hanabi was crouching down next to her sensei, gently poking at the snoring figure's cheek with a finger. "He won't be out that long you know."

Sakura knew the blush was back on her face now as she watched Hanabi prod at her boyfriend. "I just... want to have him nearby so I can show him some... paperwork when he eventually wakes up. That's all."

"Paperwork, huh?" The poking stopped, but Hanabi glanced at Sakura with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, exactly."

"So that's what they're calling it these days?"

Sakura found herself gaping like a fish at the words coming from the twelve year old girl next to her. One who was supposedly a _noble_ of all things. "Y-You... what you're saying..."

Hanabi merely gave Sakura a cheeky grin. "If you think what I'm saying is bad, you should hear my sister."

An image of Hinata's face briefly superimposed itself onto Hanabi, and Sakura soon found herself laughing uncontrollably, much to Hanabi's obvious delight.

* * *

**A/N:** Suffice it to say, this chapter took me a lot longer to get down than I ever expected it to. Parts of it just frustrated me to no end until I felt that I got it out in a manner that I actually liked. In all honesty, it may very well be because this is a needed 'connection' chapter and they can be a pain in the arse to write - the plot really starts moving forward next chapter.

Besides that, I just kinda wanted to write a little bit seeing the events through Hanabi's eyes.

There was actually another scene that I was going to put into this one, but it totally killed the flow of the chapter, so I'm shifting it to the next chapter. It will fit in better there.

**Up next:** Messages Part II


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